In Ghaziabad Assault Case, National Security Act Against Samajwadi Leader

Uttar Pradesh police said Umaid Pehelwan Idrisi had given religious colour to the attack on an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad with his live interview on Facebook

A case under the National Security Act has been filed against a Samajwadi Party leader, who was arrested in the matter involving an assault on an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad. Umaid Pehelwan Idrisi was arrested earlier this month by the Uttar Pradesh police, who said he had given religious colour to the attack on Abdul Samad with a live interview of the man on Facebook. On June 5, a group of men had abducted Abdul Samad from Loni and threatened him with a knife. Accusing him of being a Pakistani spy, one of them had hacked off his beard while allegedly chanting "Jai Shri Ram". The police, who made several arrests over the attack, ruled out any communal angle, and said the assailants were a mix of Hindus and Muslims and they targeted him over some fake amulets he had sold them. The man's family has denied that he sold amulets, insisting he was a carpenter. The matter became political controversy after opposition leaders, including Congress's Rahul Gandhi, cited it to target the Yogi Adityanath government.