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Family of Indian man killed by mob accused of cow slaughter

Associated Press
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FILE- In this Sept. 30, 2015 file photo, a bruised Asgari Begum, mother of 52-year-old Muslim farmer Mohammad Akhlaq who was killed over rumors he slaughtered a cow, stands by the entrance of her home in Bisara, a village about 45 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Indian capital of New Delhi. Ten months after a mob in northern India killed Akhlaq, his family faces prosecution for alleged cow slaughter following a neighbor's complaint, police said Saturday, July 16, 2016. The court acted on a forensic report that said the meat found in a dustbin outside the family's home was beef or the meat of "a cow or its progeny." Hindus consider cows to be sacred, and for many, eating beef is taboo. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2015 file photo, a student activist holds a placard during a protest denouncing the killing of a 52-year-old Muslim farmer Mohammad Akhlaq by villagers upon hearing rumors that the family was eating beef, a taboo for many among India's majority Hindu population, in New Delhi, India. Ten months after a mob in northern India killed Akhlaq, his family faces prosecution for alleged cow slaughter following a neighbor's complaint, police said Saturday, July 16, 2016. The court acted on a forensic report that said the meat found in a dustbin outside the family's home was beef or the meat of "a cow or its progeny." (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File) (The Associated Press)

Ten months after a mob in northern India killed a Muslim man over rumors that he had slaughtered a cow, his family faces prosecution for alleged cow slaughter following a neighbor's complaint.

Police officer Daljeet Singh says police registered a case of cow slaughter against Mohammad Akhlaq's family on Friday following a court order.

The court acted on a forensic report that said the meat found in a dustbin outside the family's home was beef or the meat of "a cow or its progeny."

The eating of beef is not a crime in Uttar Pradesh state, but slaughtering a cow carries a punishment of up to seven years in jail.

No arrests have been made so far. Yusuf Saifi, the family's attorney, said he would challenge the court's order.