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Kolkata: 2 hawkers assaulted for selling chicken patties at Gita recital event
The Kolkata police said two first information reports have been registered and efforts are on to identify the suspects
Kolkata: The Kolkata police have registered two criminal cases in connection with back-to-back assaults on two Muslim hawkers who were selling chicken patties on Sunday near the venue of the mass recital of Bhagavad Gita verses at Brigade Parade grounds, officials aware of the details said.
“The first complaint was filed on Monday by Md Salauddin who lives in Kolkata’s Tiljala area. He alleged that three men assaulted him for selling chicken patties and made objectionable remarks about his religion,” a police officer said, requesting anonymity.
The second case was registered on Tuesday on the basis of a complaint that Sheikh Riyazul, a patties seller from Hooghly district’s Arambagh, was assaulted by a larger group of around a dozen men.
“First information reports (FIRs) have been registered against unidentified people under non-bailable sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The charges include assault, unlawful assembly, destruction of property and promoting disharmony and hatred among religious groups. Efforts are on to identify the suspects,” the officer added.
The event, organised by an organisation called Sanatan Sanskriti Sansad, was widely promoted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Bengal unit after suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Humayun Kabir laid the foundation stone of a mosque modelled on Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district on Saturday.
Governor CV Ananda Bose and top state BJP leaders, including Union minister of state Sukanta Majumdar and the Bengal assembly’s leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari attended the event in which monks from across India took part.
Addressing Sunday’s gathering, the governor read out some lines from the Gita and said, “Bengal is ready to end religious arrogance.”
Although Md Salauddin was the first to register his complaint at the Maidan police station, the matter came to light on Tuesday when videos of the assault on Sheikh Riyazul went viral, prompting lawyer and CPI(M) leader Sayan Banerjee to lodge a police complaint.
Sheikh Riyazul told the media in Arambagh that he was stunned by the attack.
“I have been selling chicken and vegetable patties in the Maidans for 22 years but something like this never happened. Around a dozen men accosted me. They asked my name and pounced on me the moment I said it. They asked why I was selling chicken,” Sheikh Riyazul said.
“They beat me up and made me do sit-ups while holding my ears. They made me apologise. They threw away all the patties I had in my box. I incurred a loss of around ₹3,000,” he added.
As the CPI(M) and ruling TMC targeted the BJP, saying it was trying to introduce religious hatred, the saffron camp denied its involvement.
Sukanta Majumdar said on Tuesday that there was no evidence suggesting the involvement of BJP workers
“It was not a BJP event. There is no evidence that our people were involved. Probably the sale of chicken at the venue hurt the sentiments of some people and they reacted,” Majumdar said.
