Elderly man on his way to mosque attacked in UP's Ghaziabad

Ghaziabad: Abdul Samad, an elderly Muslim man, was abducted from an autorickshaw and brutally assaulted on his way to the mosque on June 5 in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad. The attackers dragged Samad to a hut in a nearby forest area and slapped, punched and beat him with wooden sticks, allegedly shouting Jai Shri Ram and Vande Mataram, reports NDTV.

The video of the attack has been circulated online and shows three men attacking Samad. One of the attackers sporting a white full sleeve T-shirt and blue sweatpants threatened to cut off Samad's beard with a knife. While another is wearing a black shirt and red trousers, the third attacker is seen in a light blue T-shirt and grey trousers.

Samad, who was reduced to tears, said that he was offered a lift on his way to the mosque when two more men got inside and took him to a room where they locked him up and assaulted him. He added that they forced him to chant slogans, accused him of being a Pakistani spy, seized his mobile and cut his beard.

The attackers, who boasted of the many Muslims they had killed, also reportedly showed Samad videos of other Muslims being attacked. While Pravesh Gujjar, believed to the main accused, has been arrested, the police are still on the lookout for the other two. Atul Kumar Sonkar, a senior police officer, also said that necessary actions have been taken.

Attacks on minority Muslim community forcing them to chant Jai Shri Ram have been ongoing in the country since 2015. However, the Centre has not attempted to collect data on lynchings countrywide despite multiple reports.