Biswanath: A Muslim man was abused and heckled for allegedly selling beef in Assam’s Biswanath district on Sunday. Reports suggest, the police have detained at least five people after a viral video showed the man on his knees in deep slush, begging to let him go.
Shaukat Ali, 68, was beaten on the road and forced to eat pork as punishment by locals, say sources. He is currently being treated at a government hospital.
Media outlets cannot verify the authenticity of the video or the affiliations of the mob attacking the man.
According to district police, two separate First Information Reports (FIR) have been filed – one of them is by Shaukat Ali’s brother. The police have started an investigation and are on the lookout for the men seen in the video, say sources.
The mob, while threatening Shaukat Ali, asked him if he had licence to sell beef and whether he was from Bangladesh.
“Are you Bangladeshi? Is your name in the NRC (National Register of Citizens)?” someone in the mob can be heard asking him.
Assam is implementing the NRC in a bid to weed out illegal citizens. A final draft, published last year, saw names of over 40 lakh people, among a total of 3,29,91,384, applicants missing.
The BJP in its manifesto released on Monday said it “will expeditiously complete” the NRC on priority. The party also said that it would implement NRC in a phased manner across the country.
Biswanath, under the Tezpur Lok Sabha constituency, goes to polls in the first phase on April 11.
