Elderly Muslim Man Beaten Up, Beard Cut Off & Forced to Chant 'Jai Shri Ram' by Some Men in Ghaziabad

An elderly Muslim man Abdul Samad was allegedly abducted and brutally beaten up by a group of men when he was on his way to a mosque to offer prayers in Loni area in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district on June 5. The attackers reportedly accused Samad of being a Pakistani spy and also forcibly cut off his beard with a knife.

According to NDTV report, the men allegedly abducted Samad from an autorickshaw and dragged him to a room in a nearby forested area where they reportedly chanted slogan such as ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ and also forced Samad to chant the same. In a purported video shared on Twitter, the attackers were seen slapping and beating the elderly Muslim man with wooden sticks.

In the video, one of the attackers wearing a white full-sleeve T-shirt, was also seen threatening Samad with a knife. Samad was seen pleading with his attackers but to no avail.

Two more young men - one wearing a black shirt and red trousers, while another in a light-blue



T-shirt and grey trousers - were also seen brutally attacking Samad in the video.

“I was on my way when I was offered a lift. Two more men then got inside (the auto rickshaw) and told me to stay. Then they took me to a room and locked me up and thrashed me. They forced me to chant slogans… they took my mobile away… they got a knife and cut my beard," NDTV quoted Samad, who was traumatised by the incident, as saying.

He further said that the attackers also showed him “a video of other Muslims being attacked", adding that the attackers also confessed to me that they “had killed many Muslims before".

Meanwhile, police have filed a case and arrested a Pravesh Gujjar, who believed to be the main accused in the incident and began the hunt to nab others.

Speaking on the incident, Atul Kumar Sonkar, a senior police officer from Loni, has said that “required steps" were being taken and the accused, who is in police custody, has yet to make a statement.