Man Sues Over Scalping Arrest
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
A security guard who took his wife and two children to hear a poetry reading at Lincoln Center last summer was falsely accused of trying to scalp his tickets and ultimately arrested, the man claims in a lawsuit filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Mohammad Ahmed,49, had gone to Lincoln Center with his family to see a Bollywood star, Amitabh Bachchan, read aloud the poetry of the actor’s father, Harivansh rai Srivastav, a noted Indian poet, according to information in the suit. While standing around with others before the event, Mr. Ahmed was approached by Lincoln Center guards who wrongly accused Mr. Ahmed of trying to sell his tickets, Mr. Ahmed’s attorney, Edward Sivin said.
“When the police came, he refused to leave and they forcibly manhandled him, arresting him,” Mr. Sivin said. His client suffered spinal injuries from the incident, Mr. Sivin said.
Mr. Ahmed is suing both the city and Lincoln Center.
A spokeswoman for the city’s law department said city lawyers had not yet seen the papers.
