Assault on 72-year-old: Aunt claims main accused was upset over amulet ‘misfortune’

Ghaziabad: Pravesh Gujjar, the main accused in the assault on 72-year-old Bulandshahr resident Abdul Samad in Loni on June 5, has three cases of assault and extortion against him, police said on Wednesday.
A senior police officer posted in Loni said Gujjar was unemployed. “He thought he could make some quick money through extortion. On June 9, when he was arrested, it was on the complaint of a local whom he had tried to extort,” said the officer. This was four days after he assaulted Samad and police were looking for him in that case as well.
Gujjar’s aunt Phulmati, who lives a few houses away from him in Loni’s Bantha, claimed there was no communal motive in the June 5 attack. “For the last couple of months, Pravesh has not been in the right frame of mind. First, his puja room was destroyed in a fire, after which his wife had a miscarriage. Shortly after that, his father met with an accident in which he dislocated his shoulder. All this happened after he bought the amulet from Samad. Pravesh believed the amulet had brought him misfortune wanted to teach Samad a lesson,” Phulmati said.
She said Pravesh was introduced to Samad by two locals, Intezar and Bawna. “They suggested Samad’s name, saying he gives ‘tabiz’ that take care of problems,” said Phulmati.
On June 5, Phulmati said Pravesh had sent Bawna on a bike to fetch Samad, who he knew was in Ghaziabad at that point of time. “Bawna brought him to Pravesh,” said Phulmati. Samad had alleged he was kidnapped in an auto and assaulted by strangers. SP (rural) Iraj Raja had told TOI on Tuesday Samad had hid the fact that he knew Gujjar from the cops. Raja also said police had call record details to show the two knew each other.