GHAZIABAD: Nearly three weeks after an FIR to probe the assault on a 72-year-old man was filed on June 7, police have recovered the mobile phone that holds the crucial piece of evidence in the investigation.
That evidence – the unedited video of Abdul Samad being thrashed – is, however, still not in police’s hands because it has not been found on the phone.
The video is key evidence because Samad has alleged he was called a Pakistani spy and asked to say Jai Shri Ram during the assault in Loni on June 5.
The video that reached social media, kicking up a furore, shows Samad being beaten up and his beard being cut by the assailants but does not have audio.
So far, police have ruled out a hate crime.
The cops have said they have call records to show Samad and the main accused, Pravesh Gujjar, knew each other and Pravesh had a personal grudge against Samad.
Police said they found Pravesh’s cellphone on Thursday when they had secured a six-hour remand from the court.
During questioning, he disclosed the phone’s location and also the scissors that were allegedly used to cut Samad’s beard.
A pistol with which he allegedly threatened Samad was also found.
“The phone, scissors and pistol were recovered from the bushes near his house in the Loni area,” said Akhilesh Mishra, the SHO of Loni border police station.
Asked about the video, he added, “It’s an iPhone and looks like it has been formatted.
We will send the phone to the forensic lab to access the video.” In the complaint the FIR was based on, Samad had not mentioned he was communally abused.
The Bulandshahr resident has, however, insisted he was in statements made before the media since, backing up the allegations he had made in another video.
“Based on the questioning of the accused, the victim was assaulted and his beard cut off but he was not forced to chant Jai Shri Ram.
It (the unedited video) is vital to our investigation to conclusively prove he was not made to chant because the video that was circulated had no audio,” said Mishra.
In the assault case, 11 arrests have so far been made – Pravesh, Intezar, Bawna, Mushaid, Shahbaz, Anas, Himanshu, Kallu, Adil, Poli and Avesh.
A local Samajwadi Party functionary, Ummed Phelwan Idris, has also been arrested.
Idris was booked in a separate FIR.
Police claim he instigated Samad and gave a communal twist to the incident.
In another FIR, which has drawn maximum attention in the case, police have named Twitter, a news portal and six individuals for circulation of the “unverified video” in which Samad claims he was targeted in a hate crime.