In the video, he had alleged that there were five people involved in the assault. (Screengrab) Two days after a video went viral which purportedly showed an elderly man, Abdul Samad Saifi, being assaulted and his beard being forcibly cut, the Ghaziabad police have indicated it was not a random attack, and have arrested two more people for the crime — Adil and Kallu.
While Saifi has alleged the men offered him an auto ride, took him to an isolated spot and beat him up, forcing him to chant Jai Shri Ram, police say the accused beat him up because he had sold them a “tabeez (amulet)” that they believed did not work.
Police had on Sunday arrested another accused, Parvesh Gujjar.
“The main accused Parvesh was present along with Kallu, Poli, Aarif, Adil and Mushahid when the victim met them in Loni’s Baheta. The accused and victim were known to each other as Saifi had sold them an amulet promising them positive results. The amulet did not work and the accused in anger beat him up. While two more persons have been arrested, the others will be caught soon,” said Ghaziabad Police in a statement.
According to police, Saifi was known to sell amulets in Loni village.
The viral video, which does not have audio, shows a man hitting Saifi and trying to cut off his beard even as he tries to evade the blows.
Saifi had later released a Facebook live alongside a local SP leader, alleging: “I was travelling in an autorickshaw near the border when I was abducted by the two men who sat ahead of me. They took me to a jungle area, which was abandoned, and began hitting me. Both of them held me from both sides and I kept begging them to leave and I was chanting a prayer. They asked me if I was taking Allah’s name and they told me to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ repeatedly. They hit my back with hunters and kept insisting that I should say ‘Jai Shri Ram’.”
He further alleged, “They hit me so much that I could not bear the pain, They brought a pair of scissors and cut off my beard. I feared for my life. They recorded the video and told me this is what they would do with Muslims. The assault lasted for nearly four hours after which they let me go,”
In the video, he had alleged that there were five people involved in the assault.
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