A group of students from Calcutta University’s Carmichael Hostel was beaten up with iron rods and hockey sticks allegedly by hawkers and shopkeepers in Sealdah late Wednesday evening. The students alleged that the shopkeepers called them Bangladeshis and Rohingya for speaking in Bangla.
Police have arrested two persons in connection with the incident.
According to the students, the altercation began when they had gone to a shop to buy mobile phone covers and did not like the products offered by the shopkeeper.
The students alleged that the shopkeepers started hurling abuses at them, called them Bangladeshis and Rohingya, and threatened to deport them. They attacked them with iron rods and hockey sticks, the students alleged.
“When more students from the hostel came to help. They, too, were beaten up,” a student said.
Ismail Sheikh, a student at Hazra Law College and a resident of Carmichael Hostel, said that two of the injured students are in serious condition.
The students later filed a complaint with the Muchipara police station.
“Two persons have been arrested in connection with an assault on students from the Carmichael Hostel in Sealdah. The arrests were made by Muchipara police after the students filed a complaint. The two suspects are currently being questioned,” said a police officer.
A PTI report identified the two arrested as Dipak Kr Shaw (29), a staffer at a mobile cover shop and a resident of Narkeldanga, and Imtiaz Ali (35), also from Narkeldanga, and another employee at the same shop.
Meanwhile, the registrar of Calcutta University held a meeting with the superintendent of Carmichael Hostel and student representatives to discuss the matter. The university plans to get a full report from the hostel superintendent and may file a separate police complaint if deemed necessary.
TMC leader and spokesperson Krishanu Mitra, in a social media post, condemned the attack as an instance of ethnic profiling.
“For attacking my fellow Carmichael Hostel student brothers and hurling racist abuses at them, two outsiders have been arrested so far. They are Dipak Kumar Shaw (29) and Imtiaz Ali (35), both residents of Narkeldanga. The search for the others is continuing. Thanks to the police. I hope they will also identify and promptly arrest the remaining culprits,” he posted on social media.
Earlier, Bangla Pokkho general secretary Garga Chatterjee reached Muchipara police station around 1.30 AM, warning that unless prompt action was taken, a sit-in would be staged.
The incident comes amidst a politically charged backdrop, with the TMC in recent weeks accusing BJP-ruled states such as Assam, Odisha, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Gujarat of detaining and profiling Bengali-speaking migrants, branding them “illegal Bangladeshis.”
With PTI