The Allahabad High Court on Friday stayed the arrest of the family members of Dadri lynching victim Mohammad Akhlaq, reported News18. The family had moved the high court after a Noida court had asked the Uttar Pradesh Police to file a case against them in July, following a petition filed by villagers who claimed they had seen Akhlaq’s brother Jaan Mohammad slitting a calf’s throat.

Akhlaq was beaten to death in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, in September 2015 following rumours that he and his family had killed a calf and eaten beef during Eid festivities. A forensic report in May said that the meat found in the victim’s house was that of a cow or its progeny. Uttar Pradesh police chief Javed Ahmed had said the new report “does not diminish the case as murder is an offence”. Beef eating is not a crime in Uttar Pradesh, only cow slaughter is.