Patty seller, thrashed at Gita event for peddling non-veg, back in Kolkata but skips ‘unsafe areas’
Times of India | 25 January 2026
Kolkata: Sk Riyajul, who had to leave Kolkata more than a month ago following assaults on him for selling “non-veg” puffs during a mass Gita recital in the Maidan, has returned to Kolkata, driven by desperation to earn a living.
He follows his old routine of stepping out every morning with a box-full of puffs, but with one exception — he steers clear of the Maidan. He is too scared to go anywhere near the site where he was beaten up and had his snacks thrown away on Dec 7.
Instead of the greens and the adjoining pockets, Riyajul’s voice urging people tobuy his “hot patties” — chicken and vegetable — is now heard in narrow lanes of Garden Reach neighbourhoods such as Kamal Talkies, Ramnagar, Kacchi Sadak, Bichali Ghat and Akra Fatak.
Riyajul was out of work for more than five weeks since he left the city, where he had earned a living selling puffs for two decades, and went home to Arambag on Dec 11, shattered and depressed.
He had told TOI before boarding a bus at Esplanade that the assaults “broke my heart”, forcing him to forgo his earnings during the peak winter window, coinciding with Christmas and New Year.
“It was sheer compulsion that forced me to return and resume my trade,” said Riyajul, the sole breadwinner of his family of four. “I had taken a substantial loan last year to renovate my home, which is almost a century old. I have to pay an EMI of Rs 6,000. Then there are daily expenses. Without work, how will I survive and support my family?” he asked.
Riyajul’s 86-year-old father Zainal Abedin, who was a patty and pastry seller in Kolkata during the 1980s, said he had warned his son not to go to the Maidan area anymore. Riyajul, who reached the city last Saturday, has kept his father’s word.
“In the Maidan, business was more profitable. I sell chicken puffs for Rs 30 a piece in Garden Reach. In the Maidan, the price varies between Rs 40 and Rs 50 each,” he said. He walks 15-20 km every day, carrying a 30kg load. In the afternoon, Riyajul stations himself near the Fancy Market in Kidderpore.
Riyajul’s younger son Monirulla, 20, looking for a job as a goldsmith in Hyderabad since Nov, sounded worried when contacted. “I am still working as an intern here. I told abba not to hawk patties any more, but I understand his compulsions.” Asked how he was coping following the sharp drop in his income, Riyajul said, “My daily sales have reduced significantly. But I also value my peace of mind. So, I decided not to go to the Maidan area, at least for now.”
CM Mamata Banerjee had condemned the attack on the vendor. Soumik Golder, Tarun Bhattacharya, and Swarnandu Chakraborty were arrested for assaulting Riyajul and another vendor, Md Salauddin. All three are out on bail.