Kolkata: A street food vendor was beaten up at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata during the “Laksh Kontho Gita Path (Gita chanting by 5 lakh voices)” event on Sunday (December 7) for selling chicken patties, prompting outrage on social media and a plea before the Calcutta high court seeking suo motu action.
For regulars at political rallies on the city’s Brigade Parade Ground, the setting is familiar – colourful tube papad, lozenges, cotton candy, skinny ice-cream sticks and hand-made street patties sold by itinerant vendors who depend on such gatherings for their livelihood. One of them was Sheikh Riyajul, a resident of Arambagh in Hooghly district, who has been selling patties in Kolkata for nearly twenty years.
On the day of the event, Riyajul was moving through the crowd with a box of patties, both vegetarian and chicken.
“A few people asked me whether I had chicken patties in my box. When I said yes, they started beating me. They asked my name. After hearing my name, the beating got even worse. They even made me do sit-ups holding my ears,” Riyajul said. “They damaged all my products worth Rs 3,000. That’s more than my week’s income.”
Riyajul buys patties wholesale from a bakery in central Kolkata and spends his day walking through different parts of the city to sell them. On days when there are football matches at the maidan or large political rallies, he earns between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. On regular days, his income falls to Rs 200-300. Patties are sold for Rs 30-35 each. For work convenience, he now lives in Khidderpore.
He supports a family of four, his wife and two sons. The elder son works as a jewellery labourer in Hyderabad, while the younger is an apprentice in a workshop. Since the video of the assault went public, Riyajul said the family has been living in fear. “They are crying and scared after seeing what happened to me,” he said. “I am very poor, and my family is deeply worried about our future. Why did they beat me? I never forced anyone to buy my food.”
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
