Slapped, punched, called jihadi: 3 Kolkata students attacked

"Even though we tried to avoid them, they kept advancing to pick a fight with us and began using abusive language," a student said.

Kolkata: Three students from Aliah University were allegedly targeted with communal slurs and assaulted while returning home on September 24 in Kolkata, West Bengal.

The incident occurred when Md Ashique Billah, Moyajjem Hossain, and Hasanur Jaman were on their way to the Sealdah railway station at around 2.40 pm from the university’s Taltala campus, where they study in the Department of Islamic Theology. Two middle-aged men on a two-wheeler allegedly intercepted them near a hospital.

“The miscreants arrived on a black-and-white scooty and tried to provoke a communal clash. Even though we tried to avoid them, they kept advancing to pick a fight with us and began using abusive language. A major altercation started there,” Ashique was quoted by Maktoob Media.

Attackers accuse students of abuse

The students said they never saw the two men, who were wearing saffron tilaks on their foreheads. “We didn’t know those people. We saw them for the first time.”

The men allegedly accused the students of abusing them, which the three denied. “We said, ‘Why would we abuse you? We’re students.”

According to Ashique, one of the men in half pants and a vest slapped him while the students were denying the accusations. He claimed that the two assailants were swearing at them in Hindi. “They called us ‘jihadi’ and ‘jangi’; they looked at us, scanned us through our beard and topi and called us ‘jihadi’,” Ashique said.

The 24-year-old student claimed that upon seeing that they were not retaliating, the attackers got off the scooter and began assaulting them. The students alleged they were slapped, punched, and even threatened as the attackers pulled at their clothes.

Ashique dragged into a lane, Moyajjem and Hasanur attacked

When the students tried to avoid them and moved along their way, the attackers dragged Ashique into a lane. Student representative at Aliah University, Md Motasim Billah, spoke to the victims and said that when the men were dragging Ashique into the lane, the other two tried to save him. “And that is when they punched and slapped Moyajjem,” he said.

The student leader recounted what Ashique told him, that the attacker slapped him hard enough that his head “started spinning immediately” and he was repeatedly hit. The men also threatened to kill them, the student said.

‘Labelled jihadis’

“They (attackers) labelled them jihadis just from what they were wearing. Our boys are very timid. They didn’t want to get into any trouble,” said Motasim.

He said the men “didn’t just attack them”, pointing out the condition of their torn clothes in the photographs circulating on social media. “They punched Hasanur in the face, and there was blood coming from his teeth,” Motasim said.

The three later filed a written complaint to the university saying they were attacked and “severely beaten by some miscreants near Taltala Market” while going home.

Women students allege similar incidents

Both Motasim and Ashique noted that female students had previously experienced Islamophobic abuse in that area. According to Motasim, the women hesitated to file formal complaints earlier out of fear of confronting the men alone.

“When the young women were passing through there, they said, ‘Dada, they call us ‘mulli’ and ‘children of jihad.’” Motasim said. “The female students said, ‘They use other kinds of language too: language that, dada, we can’t repeat in front of you.’”

Ashique, Moyajjem, and Hasanur approached the police, accompanied by other students, at Taltala police station an hour after the assault. They reportedly asked for advice from an officer on how to proceed with the case. Motasim said the officer attempted to discourage lodging a first information report, offering a written complaint as an alternative. However, the students insisted on submitting a statement reflecting their exact experience.

Inside the station, the students encountered one of the alleged attackers. Motasim, who accompanied the group, stated that the man wearing shorts arrived and made threatening gestures toward Ashique. Although the students urged the police to verify events using local CCTV footage, Motasim alleged that officers instead dismissed the suspect’s behavior, labeling him “manoshik bhabe bharsomyoheen” (mentally unstable) and a “patakhor,” or weed smoker.

Meanwhile, a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader threatened them against filing an FIR, stating a cross case could be registered against them. “We’re all children from poor families. We don’t have the means to hire a lawyer,” Motasim said.

Fearing potential criminal charges, the students eventually backed down, requesting only preventive measures and increased security along the routes.