'Cow slaughter' being used to target us, says pacer Mohammad Shami’s father

MEERUT: A day after Indian pacer Mohammad Shami’s brother Mohammad Haseeb was booked — he was later released on bail — for allegedly assaulting a police officer and "pressuring cops" to release a few men arrested on charges of cow slaughter, Tauseef Ahmad, the cricketer's father, said his family was in "danger" and that the emotive issue of "gau hatya" was being used to target them.

"My son was not even present there at the time of the incident and had reached the site only much later," Ahmad told TOI on Friday. "He (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 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."

When TOI contacted Amroha district magistrate Ved Prakash, he 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 even scuffled with sub-inspector Pradeep Bhardwaj, tearing the latter's uniform.



In the confusion, the accused fled the scene. Police then arrested Haseeb and filed charges against him.

Asked about the incident, Kumar said, “Haseeb stopped the police vehicle which was carrying the accused wanted in the cow slaughter case, a man named Rizwan Ahmad. When the sub-inspector and constables confronted him, Haseeb became violent. We 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.”