Mob thrashes Muslim man in Assam for selling beef

Guwahati: In what is called to be the case of hate-crime, a mob not only assaulted 68-year-old Shaukat Ali on suspicion of selling beef but also forced him to eat pork in central Assam’s Biswanath district. However, police have picked up five persons suspected to have been the part of mob.

The incident took place on April 7 in Assam’s Biswanath Chariali town. It came to light after a video of the incident went viral on social media on Monday.

The video doing the rounds on social media, shows as to how an angry mob forced Shaukat Ali to kneel down in mud. The mob also asked Shaukat Ali as to why he was selling beef and if he has the license to do so. The irate mob also asked his nationality while suspecting him, to be a Bangladeshi.

According to local police, Mr Ali is a businessman and has been running an eatery in the area for the last 35 years. The mob accused him of selling beef in the weekly market.

The situation worsened on Sunday when a mob which was accusing Mr Ali of selling beef forcibly entered the eatery and assaulted Shaukat Ali and allegedly forced him to eat pork.

“We have picked up five people, including two market committee leaders, in a bid to disperse the mob. They were allowed to go after signing a good behaviour bond under Section 107 of Code of Criminal Procedure,” a district administration official said. He added that some locals had been warning Mr Ali not to sell what they believed was beef.  Mr Sahabuddin, the brother of Mr. Ali, later filed an FIR at the local police station.

Mr Ali also received injuries and is being treated in a local hospital.

The mob also misbehaved with the manager of the weekly market, Kamal Thapa.

Confirming the incident, police said that two FIRs have been filed against unidentified persons — one by Kamal Thapa and the other by Shaukat Ali’s brother. The police, however, denied that the violence was communal in nature.