Meerut: Indian pacer Mohammed Shami’s father, Tauseef Ahmad, on Friday claimed that his family was in ‘danger’ as they were being targeted in the name of ‘cow slaughter’.
His comments a day after his son Mohammad Haseeb (brother of Shami) was arrested and then subsequently released on bail on charge of assaulting and “pressuring” cops to release a few men arrested on charges of cow slaughter
“My son was not even present there at the time of the incident and had reached the site only much later,” Ahmad told media persons.
“Haseeb was just an onlooker like so many others who had gathered there. He was unnecessarily dragged into the controversy. It is just that a few persons are nurturing enmity with our family because of the publicity we have got after Shami started playing for team India. I had reported the issue to the Amroha district magistrate (DM) in this regard a month ago. This (the arrest) is the result of that. A term like ‘cow slaughter’ is being used to target us.”
Amroha DM Ved Prakash meanwhile confirmed that Ahmad had indeed met him a month ago. “It is true he had met me with a complaint that someone was threatening his family on phone. But he did not mention who his tormentors were.”
On Thursday afternoon, station officer of Didoli police station, Praveen Kumar, got a tip-off regarding a person wanted in a case of cow slaughter. When the team led by Kumar went to arrest the man, Haseeb allegedly prevented the police from doing their job and allegedly scuffled with sub-inspector Pradeep Bhardwaj.
In the confusion, the accused fled the scene. Police then arrested Haseeb and filed charges against him.
Cops said that they filed an FIR against Haseeb under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 153 (promoting enmity between different groups), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension). However, on account of his ill-health, he was given bail.
(Agencies)
