A Samajwadi Party worker was arrested on Saturday for allegedly “instigating” an elderly Muslim man to claim in a video that he was beaten up by four youths who also chopped off his beard and asked him to chant “Jai Shri Ram” in Ghaziabad.

Ummaid Pehelwan Idrisi, who had been absconding since Wednesday when an FIR was lodged against him at Loni Border police station, was picked up from Delhi, a Ghaziabad police officer said.

“The accused, identified as Ummaid Pehelwan Idrisi, was held near the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital in Delhi by a Ghaziabad police team. He is being brought here for further proceedings,” Ghaziabad senior superintendent of police Amit Pathak said.

The FIR, filed against Idrisi on the complaint of a policeman, alleged that he had “unnecessarily” made the video — in which Abdul Samad Saifi narrates his ordeal.

The video was made with the intention to “create social disharmony” and shared on Facebook by Idrisi, the FIR said.

He was booked under IPC Sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups on ground of religion, class etc), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious belief), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (public mischief).

A separate FIR was lodged against Idrisi on Thursday evening in Bulandshahr district accusing him and around 100 others of violation of Covid-19 protocols by holding a public gathering on June 16, officials said.

Bulandshahr resident Saifi, who had made communal allegations in his video on June 14, had earlier on June 7 alleged in a complaint to Ghaziabad police that he was assaulted by four youths on June 5 after being abducted by them and confined in a room in Loni.

Cases have been lodged against Twitter, some journalists and Congress leaders for sharing the video on social media. Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari has been summoned by Uttar Pradesh police to answer to the allegation that the micro-blogging site did not pull down the video that had been shared with the intent of creating communal disharmony.

Asked about Saifi’s communal allegations, senior superintendent of police Pathak had said earlier that the elderly man had made no such claim in his original complaint. Pathak had said he suspected someone had later instigated Saifi to level communal charges.

The Ghaziabad superintendent of police (rural) had also said the police had already arrested the main accused in the assault case — Parvez Gurjar.

The officer had said Gurjar had had a dispute with Saifi over the purchase of an amulet.

Saifi has denied having ever dealt in amulets or occultism.