Assam man thrashed, force fed Pork: 8 held including suspecting conspirator in mob violence case

A week ago a 68-year-old Muslim man was reportedly abused and thrashed by a mob for selling beef. The old man identified as Shaukat Ali was attacked on April 7 by a mob in Assam’s Biswanath Chariali. In a development, in the case, Assam Police has arrested eight persons in connection with the mob violence.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told Indian Express that strict action will be taken against the culprits. “We will not spare anyone responsible for this incident. This is a secular nation. The principle of secularism will be strictly maintained,” he said.

According to police, Shaukat Ali has been running a business in the area for about 35 years. He was attacked by the mob that suspected him of allegedly selling cooked beef in the weekly ‘haat (market).

The incident was captured on the mobile phone by the people present at the spot. In one of the videos, someone from the mob can be heard asking Shaukat Ali, "Are you Bangladeshi? Is your name in the NRC (National Register of Citizens)?" One asked him if he had a licence to sell beef.

Meanwhile, the victim’s family has raised questions as to why was Ali detained after the medical check-up. “Along with two managers of the weekly market he was running the eatery in – were detained at the police station and released the following morning,” Ali told Indian Express.

“This is not true. He was not detained. He was in our protective custody because of the prevailing situation and tension; there was a clear threat to his life. We also got his medical examination done in the presence of two personnel,” Biwanath Superintendent of Police Rakesh Roushan said responding to the families’ queries.

Assam is implementing the NRC, in a bid to weed out illegal citizens in the state. In the final draft published last year, witnessed names of over 40 lakh people name were missing, among a total of 3,29,91,384 applicants.