In Ghaziabad attack case, victims family rejects cops amulet claim

The Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday booked Twitter and eight others, including journalists and Congress leaders, for creating communal unrest by circulating a video where a Muslim man was seen saying that he was thrashed and asked to chant “Jai Shree Ram” and “Vande Mataram.” The UP police on Tuesday had denied communal angle in the incident and said the accused were unhappy about a ‘tabeez’ (amulet) Abdul Samad sold to them.

However, Abdul Samad’s family on Wednesday denied police claims that the man sells amulets. 

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The incident took place on June 5, where Abdul Samad in a viral video had alleged his beard was chopped off by the accused, was forced to chant “Jai Sri Ram” and “Vande Matram” and was taken to a forested area and locked up. The UP police have denied any “communal angle” in the case and said the accused, which include Hindus and Muslims, attack him because the amulets he sells did not work. 

While booking Twitter, the UP police said that the platform did not take any action against the post even after a “clarification” was put up by the Ghaziabad Police on Monday. Alongside Twitter, the police have also booked journalists Rana Ayyub, Saba Naqvi, and Congress leaders Salman Nizami, Shama Mohamed and Maskoor Usmani for sharing “misleading posts.” 

Meanwhile, Abdul Samad’s son, refuting the police’s claims, told NDTV, “The police is wrong in saying that my father used to sell ‘tabeez’ (amulets). No one in our family does this business. We are carpenters. The police are not saying the right thing – let them investigate and prove it.”