New Delhi:
A 68-year-old man Muslim man was heckled and brutally thrashed by mob in Assam’s Biswanath district for allegedly selling beef in local market. According to latest media reports, the man identified as one Shaukat Ali was beaten up by mob and as part of ‘punishment’, the attackers forced him to eat pork. The video of the incident that reportedly took place on Sunday went viral on Tuesday. The local police sprang into action after uproar on the social media. According to NDTV, two separate FIRs have been lodged in connection with the case. It is also said that around five people have been detained for beating up Ali.
News Nation can’t independently verify the authenticity of the 32-second clip, which is being shared widely on Twitter. However, local police says that the video appears to be genuine. “The video appears to be genuine. We have received an FIR from a relative of Ali,” Biswanath SP Rakesh Roushan was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. In the video, the faces of anyone in the mob is not visible. But the voice can be heard. “Why did you come to sell beef here?” asks one attacker. Other scolds him and asked, “are you a Bangladeshi?”. Another questioned: “is your name on the NRC”.
Meanwhile, DGP Assam said that, “a case has been registered, probe underway. One person has been detained. The Chief Minister has also directed us to take strict action. All accused will be arrested soon. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, over 40 people were killed in last three years by cow protection group. About 280 people have been injured in more than 100 attacks between May 2015 and December 2018, the report by the New York-based group said.
“My brother is in hospital now. We have never seen such communalism here,” Ali’s brother Rehman was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
With the BJP making nationalism a central theme of its poll campaign, its manifesto promised NRC exercise in other parts of India. The party said it will firmly continue with its policy of giving a free hand to security forces in combating terrorism. Talking tough on infiltration, the party has said it will implement National Register of Citizens, which is currently underway in Assam to identify illegal immigrants, in a phased manner in other parts of the country, as they cause "huge change" in the cultural and linguistic identity of the areas they live.
