Three Muslim meat traders were allegedly attacked by a mob in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on the eve of Republic Day, January 25. The incident took place in the Julpia area under the Bishnupur Police Station. The victims, Faraj Ali Piyada, aged 35, Akkash Ali Piyada, aged 37, and Ansar Ali Piyada, aged 29, are residents of Khodar Bazar Madhyapara in Baruipur and have been running a mutton business at the local Kachari Bazar for several years. They were left seriously injured and deeply traumatized after the attack.
According to the victims’ families, the ordeal began with a business-related disagreement. A group of customers at their shop reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the mutton provided. Despite the traders slaughtering three additional goats to satisfy the customers, the group refused the meat and demanded a refund. The victims’ father allegedly returned the money immediately to avoid conflict.
However, the matter did not end there. As Faraj Ali was returning from the shop later that evening, he was intercepted at the Julpia Koylar More by four individuals. He was allegedly dragged into a nearby village where a mob of 40 to 50 people descended upon him. “They beat me half-dead before the police arrived,” Faraj recounted. He alleged that the mob used communal slurs, shouting, “You are Muslim Bangladeshis, eating and living off our land.”
The brutality escalated when Akkash Ali arrived at the scene after receiving a phone call. He alleged that the mob surrounded him, hurled communal abuses, and demanded to see his Aadhaar card. When he could not produce it immediately, he was reportedly forced to write derogatory and obscene statements about his own parentage under duress.
The most harrowing testimony came from Sujata Bibi, Akkash’s wife, who rushed to the spot when her husband failed to return home. She described a scene of absolute lawlessness. She told The Observer Post, “They were armed and were beating my husband. When I tried to intervene, they molested me, tore my clothes, and kicked me in the chest.”
She further alleged that the attackers forcefully stripped the men to “verify” their religious identity through circumcision marks before continuing the assault with the intent to kill.
This story was originally published in theobserverpost.com. Read the full story here.