Amid mounting tension over lynching of a 50-year-old man following rumours that he and his family had eaten beef, Union Minister Mahesh Sharma descibed the incident as "an accident" even as a blame game erupted between BJP and ruling SP over it. AAP leader Ashutosh claimed police probe "clearly showed" that BJP was behind the incident and demanded Sharma's sacking from the Union Ministry. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi termed the incident as a "dark spot in our democracy".