Beef battle: Iqlakh’s family leaves Dadri

New Delhi, Dadri: The strongest possible action will be taken against those trying to disrupt communal harmony in the country, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday, days after a man was lynched in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Dadri district over beef consumption rumours, as the Centre also promised to protect all minorities.

Reports claimed family members of the deceased victim, Mohammed Iqlakh, had left their home for the comparative safety of Delhi. Air Force sources were quoted saying that Iqlakh’s son Sartaj, a corporal posted at an IAF base in Chennai, has moved his family to an IAF zone in the Delhi area. Iqlakh’s younger son Danish, 22, who was critically injured in the attack and is under treatment at a Noida hospital, has come out of ICU and is able to communicate with the family, he said.

However, when contacted, Mohammed Sartaj said that till now his family was still in their village. Union minister Mukhtar  Abbas Naqvi said that BJP leaders like Sakshi Maharaj had been given a “strong message”. The village boundary is still barricaded and police force is deployed. Officials were scanning all the vehicles entering the village.