Two Muslim street vendors who were selling non-vegetarian patties have been assaulted by Hindutva men near a “Gita Path” event at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, triggering outrage from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), the CPI(M), and renewed accusations of rising Hindutva vigilantism.
The incident took place on Sunday, December 7, during an event organised by the Sanatan Sanskriti Sangsad affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayem Sewak Sangh focused on promoting Sanatan Dharma.
The first victim, Sheikh Riyazul, a resident of Arambag who has been selling vegetarian and non-vegetarian patties for over 22 years, said he was attacked immediately after he revealed his name.
“They asked me my name. As soon as I told them, they started thrashing me. They made me do squats and threw away my food,” he recounted in a video surfaced on social media sites.
The video shows several men, some with tilaks on their foreheads, surrounding the vendor, pulling his ears, emptying his box of patties and hitting him.
The second victim was identified as Md Salauddin who lives in Kolkata’s Tiljala area. He alleged that three men assaulted him for selling chicken patties and made Islamophobic remarks.
The Kolkata police have registered two criminal cases in connection with back-to-back assaults on two Muslim hawkers.
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.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.