Police add a new angle on Elderly Muslim Man Beaten For Not Chanting 'Jai Shri Ram', Chopped His Beard

The Ghaziabad police declared it was a case of "personal enmity" after a video of Abdul Samad Saifi, 72, being beaten and having his beard chopped off went viral, saying some people are furious with him as he had presented a "taweez (amulet)" to one of the accused of "good fortune," but rather a family mishap took place.

In a separate video that went viral, the man was heard complaining about being forced to chant "Jai Siya Ram." The police, on the other hand, claim that this did not occur, and that this accusation was not mentioned in Saifi's formal complaint, which was submitted on 7th June.

As per the authorities, Saifi gave one of the accused a "taweez (amulet)" in the hopes of bringing him good luck, but a mishap in the family enraged the man, who then ganged up with the others and roughed up Saifi.

As per the report, 3 people have been detained in connection with the assault, including a Muslim teen named Adil, whose family claims he was there "just to help Saifi."

The police reported that they are on the lookout for the other suspect.

While the assault is claimed to have occurred earlier this month, and a report was filed on 7th June, the subject resurfaced on social media Monday after a silent video of the 72-year-old getting beaten up mercilessly by a group of men and having his beard cut off circulated on the internet.

In a different video, Saifi claims he was kidnapped and brought from Bulandshahr to Hajipur Bheta in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district. His videos and images of his wounds sparked a tremendous outpouring of support on social media.

Despite Saifi's assertions in the video and in his written complaint, police denied that he was singled out because of his faith.

Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing harm), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) have been exerted to arrest three people.

While Kallu Gujjar and Adil were detained on Monday, the primary suspect, Parvesh Gujjar, has been in jail since Saturday in connection with an extortion case.

In the meanwhile, the National Minority Commission has taken notice of the event and has sought a police report within seven days.

According to the authorities, all of the defendants and the victim knew one other since Saifi specialises in ‘taweez,' and the case has no sectarian overtones.