Three people have been arrested in connection with the alleged assault on a chicken patty seller who was “humiliated” for selling non-vegetarian food during the Gita Path event at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground.
Police said that after the video went viral, the accused were identified from the footage and arrested based on two complaints filed at Maidan police station.
The ‘Paanch Lokkho Konthe Gita Paath’ (Gita recitation by five lakh voices) event, organised by Sanatan Sanskriti Sansad, was taking place on December 7 when the alleged incident happened. The victim is a resident of Arambagh in Hooghly district.
“Those arrested have been identified as Soumik Golder (23), Swarnendu Chakraborty (32) and Tarun Bhattacharya (51). They were arrested this morning,” said an official on Thursday.
Police said the three have been booked on charges of voluntarily causing hurt, mischief, unlawful assembly and deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class. Soumik Golder is the main accused who had allegedly asked the vendor his name and forced him to hold his ears. All three will be produced in court on Thursday.
The vendor, Sheikh Riajul, has been selling patties in Kolkata for the last 23 years. The viral purported video showed Riajul surrounded by people attending the event. Some of them asked who had allowed him to sell chicken during the Gita Path. The victim is seen being asked his name, made to do sit-ups holding his ears, and beaten. The vendor was seen requesting the crowd to let him leave while the mob continued abusing and assaulting him. They later threw away all the patties he was carrying.
“They asked me my name,” Riajul said. “As soon as I told them Sheikh, they started hitting me. They told me to squat. Threw my food… For the last 23 years I have been doing this, I never saw Kolkata in this way.”
The incident triggered a political debate, with the TMC and other Opposition parties accusing the BJP of trying to impose a “mob-lynching culture” and dictate the food habits of Bengali residents. On Thursday, CM Mamata Banerjee raised the issue from a rally in Nadia.
She said, “A hawker went to sell his items. This is seen in all meetings. It maybe didn’t cross his mind that ‘I will sell this, I won’t sell that’. They caught him and beat him. I got all of them arrested. This is Bengal, not Uttar Pradesh.” Addressing the people present, she said, “Will you vote for the BJP? They don’t allow people to eat fish and meat. They impose vegetarianism.”
Kunal Ghosh, TMC state general secretary and spokesperson, strongly condemned the alleged assault.
“Don’t buy it if you don’t eat non-vegetarian food. But why beat up the seller?” he said. “They earn money by selling various things there. I condemn this incident.”
Meanwhile, the BJP questioned the vendor’s intention behind selling non-vegetarian food near a religious gathering. BJP leader Debjit Sarkar said, “Can Gita Path be done after eating chicken patties? During Gita Path, if a man is entering with chicken patties, it shows how reluctant they are.”