Two main accused in the case of lynching of a Muslim man in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh were arrested on Saturday, bringing the total number of arrests to nine.
The main accused, identified as Shivam and Vishal, were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday, news agency ANI reported.
According to CNN-IBN, Shivam is the son of local BJP leader Sanjay Rana.
Additional district magistrate Rajesh Yadav was quoted as saying in reports that even Ikhlaq's family has accused the BJP leader's son.
However, the BJP has reportedly said that Sanjay Rana does not hold any post in the party.
A mob of more than 100 people had dragged 50-year-old Mohammed Ikhlaq and his son out of their house on Monday and attacked them with bricks after it was allegedly announced on a temple loudspeaker that the family had slaughtered a cow and stored the meat.
The victim family has alleged that the main accused forced the temple priest to announce that Ikhlaq had slaughtered a cow.
#BREAKING | 2 main culprits of #MurderOverBeef case Vishal & Shivam arrested, latter's Father is a local BJP leader, reports @saahilmenghani
— CNN-IBN News (@ibnlive) October 3, 2015
The BJP-led central government has been strongly criticised by various parties and people following the incident, especially as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not addressed the issue personally yet.
The incident led to a national outrage over the murder, with some reports suggesting that it was communally motivated. On Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi met the victim's family in Dadri.
Ikhlaq had succumbed to his injuries even as his son is in a critical condition.
