In a hate crime in Kolkotta, the capitala city of West Bengal, a madrasa teacher, Twenty-year-old Mohammad Shahrukh Haldar was thrashed by a mob for not chanting Jai Shri Ram. Haldar a resident of Canning, a town in south 24 Parganas was travelling to Hoogly on Thursday afternoon. A group of people, assaulted and bullied him for sporting a beard and skull cap and refusing to chant Jai Sri Ram.
Speaking to eNewsroom over the phone he said, “I had boarded the local train from Canning, to reach my Madarsa in Hoogly, like I usually do. However, on Thursday, when the train reached Dhakuria, a lot of people boarded chanting religious slogans. From their attire, it seemed like they were going to attend some rally and seemed to be members of Hindu Samhiti. We were seated and kept quiet. Soon we heard some ruckus, it seemed like there was some quarrelling on in the compartment, just next to ours. However, we little realised that it would reach our compartment soon.”
He took a pause and then went on to narrate, “As the train reached Ballygunge, these people then began harassing men sporting skull caps and beard. They then asked me as to why I was sporting a skull cap and beard. They also asked me chant Jai Sri Ram. When I didn’t reply to their questioning, they began assaulting me. By this time the train entered Park Circus. Here they pulled me along with others towards the train and pushed us off. Some locals came to our rescue. By the time I narrated my ordeal the train chugged away. So, we went to the Topsia Police station and lodged a police complaint, following which the case has been taken up by the GRP. However, my assailants are yet to be traced and booked.”