Kolkata: The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal assembly and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Suvendu Adhikari, publicly acknowledged and felicitated the three individuals recently granted bail following their arrest for attacking two vendors selling chicken patties in Kolkata. The incident occurred during a “Laksh Kontho Gita Path (Gita chanting by 5 lakh voices)” event. One of the victims told The Wire that he is “very scared” as the men are out on bail.

Adhikari, a former associate of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, shared photographs of the gathering on his official Facebook profile.

"Today, I felicitated three Hindu warriors, Soumik Bhai, Swarnendu Bhai, and Tarun Bhai, in Kolkata in the presence of respected saints. The honourable court granted them bail today," Adhikari wrote.

Further, the BJP leader used the occasion to issue a statement directed at the chief minister, he wrote, "I want to tell Mamata Banerjee that you cannot suppress ‘Sanatanis’ by unleashing your loyalist police on them. The fight of the Sanatanis for the protection of religion will continue, and in this fight, I stand with every Hindu, along with countless supporters of Hindutva."

Later, speaking to the media, Adhikari asserted that his identity as a Hindu takes precedence over his political roles as an MLA, leader of the opposition, and BJP member. He maintained, “If my Hindu brothers and sisters are in trouble, my primary duty is to protect my dharma. That is what the Gita has taught me.”

He mentioned that despite official actions, “the voice of justice still prevails silently in India.” He also criticised Banerjee saying that the chief minister had "arrogantly" taken personal responsibility for the arrests, before rhetorically asking, "Who is she to decide arrests?"

Also read: Kolkata Food Vendor 'Beaten Up' for 'Selling Non-Veg Food' at Gita Chanting Event

The Nandigram MLA also took responsibility for facilitating the release of the three men. He said he had sent his legal team to the Maidan police station, where the complaint was filed, and collaborated with multiple lawyers to ensure their bail was secured.

The men were released by the Bankshall court after furnishing personal bonds of Rs 1,000 each.

The original complaint from the food vendors alleged that a group of young men assaulted them for offering non-vegetarian items at the religious function.

The vendors also claimed they were compelled to perform sit-ups while holding their ears. The Police intervened after a video purportedly showing the confrontation was widely circulated on social media platforms.

Speaking to The Wire, one of the food vendors who was assaulted, Sheikh Riyajul said, ‘I am scared, very scared. My attackers are out on bail. They have filed a case against me. I am very poor. How can I fight them?”

A day after the incident, he returned to his village Arambag in Hooghly. Since then, he hasn’t stepped out.

“I don’t know anything else to do. At this age, what would I do? I have to earn living for my family.”

Riyajul claims, no one from the administration has got in touch with him.

“No, police didn’t talk to me. Nor did the public prosecutor call me to know about the incident.”

Besides Riyajul, the Hindutva brigade also attacked Shyamal Mandal, another hawker belonging to the Dalit community.

“In the incident of mob beating at Brigade, all the accused were granted bail. All the sections applied were bailable; only ‘hurting religious sentiments’ is non-bailable. Coincidentally, in the complaint I had filed, there was no mention of hurting religious sentiments — it was about mob lynching,” CPI(M) leader and lawyer Sayan Bandopadhyay, who filed the first FIR against the attackers told The Wire.

Bandopadhyay underlined that the punishment under Section 299 is three years’ imprisonment, adding that the Supreme Court has clearly stated that if the prescribed punishment is less than seven years, a notice under Section 41A is mandatory.

“Naturally, under this section the police cannot take the accused into custody. Did the police not know such a simple truth? At first the police remained inactive. Later, after our complaint, they were forced to arrest the accused — but the case was framed in such a way that within a few hours all the accused got bail,” he said.

Bandopadhyay added: “I filed the complaint, yet strangely I am not the de facto complainant! After the news of the arrest, I tried to contact the Officer-in-Charge of Maidan Police Station over the phone, but unsurprisingly he avoided my calls. At noon the Chief Minister delivered a loud, fiery speech, and by evening the police of her state arranged bail.”

This article was updated and republished with Sayan Bandopadhyay's quotes at 1.30 pm.

With inputs from Aparna Bhattacharya.

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