From Akhlaq to Subodh: 3 years on, UP's 2 locations share common narrative

History came full circle this Monday. Three years after Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched by a mob on the suspicion of possessing beef, Subodh Kumar Singh, the police officer investigating that case died a violent death earlier this week. Like Akhlaq, Singh too was killed in a clash triggered by a mob protesting cow slaughter.

Though separated by time, the two narratives are located in the same state, Uttar Pradesh. They are also tied to the common and now normalised mob frenzy over the mere suspicion of cow slaughter or possessing and consuming beef. Moreover, these narratives are bound by the