Cairo: A video footage of a man beaten and dragged naked bypolicemen in Cairo triggered an outrage in Egypt on Saturday and prompted callsfor Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim to resign.
But hours after the presidency expressed disappointment overthe incident and Ibrahim offered to resign, the man told state television thepolicemen were actually trying to save him from protesters -- a claim quicklydismissed by his relatives.
Footage of the incident was broadcast live on televisionduring protests on Friday night against Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
It has since gone viral on the Internet, triggering anoutpouring of condemnation on social media websites.
In the video, riot police can be seen beating a man in his50s before he was dragged into an armoured vehicle in front of the presidentialpalace.
"The horrible and degrading images showing the centralsecurity officers and police beating and dragging a naked man near thepresidential palace should lead to the interior minister's immediateresignation," said Khaled Dawoud, spokesman for the main oppositionNational Salvation Front (NSF).
The presidency said it was "pained by the shockingfootage of some policemen treating a protester in a manner that does not accordwith human dignity and human rights."
It would follow the interior ministry's investigation ofwhat it called an "isolated act."
Ibrahim's office said he had ordered a probe to "holdaccountable" those who beat the man, and that he would resign if"that's what the people want."
Prosecutors say Saber, a 50-year-old construction paintersent to a police hospital, was found carrying petrol bombs.
Late on Saturday, Saber, in an interview with statetelevision, said the police were actually saving him from protesters.
"They gathered around me and roughed me up. They tookmy clothes then they said 'hey, this guy isn't a policeman, he's an oldman,'" Saber said from his hospital bed.
Then, he said, "I tried to resist the police because Ididn't want to get into their armoured vehicle, but then I realised that theywere trying to save me."
But minutes after his interview, relatives dismissed hisclaim.
"He's lying, he is scared," his daughter, Randa,told state television.
And an unnamed man claiming to be Saber's nephew said he"is lying because there is lot of pressure on him."
On Friday night people had taken to the streets in severalcities in response to an NSF call for a show of opposition to Morsi and hisMuslim Brotherhood after deadly unrest swept Egypt last week in the worstviolence since the president was elected in June.
Hours before Friday's violence erupted, NSF leader MohamedElBaradei had suggested unrest would persist if Morsi kept sidelining hisopponents.