The Trinamool Congress administration has come under fire after the video of an attack on two young men from Bihar by a group of men claiming to be police officials in Siliguri, West Bengal, went viral on social media on 26th September. Two union ministers, Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Shandilya Giriraj Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the Mamata administration over the incident.
“Red carpet for Rohingya Muslims in Bengal and Bihar kid beaten up for taking exam? Are these children not part of India? Has the Mamata government taken the contract of only saving rapists,” Giriraj Singh lashed out and also tagged Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
बंगाल में रोहिंग्या मुसलमान के लिए रेड कारपेट और परीक्षा देने गए बिहार के बच्चे के साथ मारपीट ?
— Shandilya Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) September 26, 2024
क्या ये बच्चे हिंदुस्तान के अंग नहीं?
क्या ममता सरकार ने सिर्फ बलात्कारियों को बचाने का ठेका ले रखा है?@SuvenduWB pic.twitter.com/FVyOhSn5aw
Chirag Paswan also expressed concern over the shocking instance and stated, “The news of the brutal assault on Bihari students in West Bengal is very unfortunate and condemnable. The Chief Minister of that state has once again insulted the Biharis, which cannot be tolerated at all. I want to ask Mamata Banerjee ji, is it a crime to take an exam in West Bengal? Will the opposition party leaders still remain silent? I want to ask the Leader of the Opposition of Bihar, on what basis will you support the Trinamool Congress now?” Additionally, he urged Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, to do a comprehensive investigation into the incident and prosecute those responsible.
पश्चिम बंगाल में बिहारी छात्रों से बर्बरतापूर्ण मारपीट की खबर बेहद दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण और निंदनीय है। वहां की मुख्यमंत्री ने फिर एक बार बिहारियों का अपमान किया है, जिसे कतई बर्दाश्त नहीं किया जा सकता। मैं ममता बनर्जी जी से पूछना चाहता हूं कि क्या पश्चिम बंगाल में परीक्षा देना भी गुनाह… pic.twitter.com/r63phJkbcr
— युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) September 26, 2024
The assailants claimed the victims had faked their domicile documents. They forced them who had gone to participate in the physical exam for a Staff Selection Commission General Duty (SSC GD) recruitment to apologize and perform sit-ups. One of the victims was even slammed against a wall.
In the video, two men are seen sleeping when a group of individuals storm into their room, wake them up and ask them where they are from in Bengali. When the duo respond that they are from Bihar, they are questioned about the reason for their visit and asked if they understand Bengali. Ankit Yadav, one of the males, answers they have come for a physical examination. A man in the group asks him about how they may take an exam in the state when they are not its residents.
Members of the group dispute Yadav’s assertion that they were given the Siliguri centre, arguing that only persons who live in Bengal can apply for that station. The males in the group then demand to see his paperwork, saying they are from the police.
Yadav requests that they take him to the police station as the altercation gets more heated and members of the group start threatening them. After being thrown to the ground, he assures that he will go back to Bihar. Following this, Yadav and the other man are forced to perform sit-ups and given a warning not to travel to Bengal for exams ever again. Yadav is likewise forced up against the wall since he won’t hand over his paperwork out of concern that it would be torn. He begs the assailants in the last moments of the video and swears he will go back home.
The prime accused has been identified as Rajat Bhattacharya, according to reports. He is associated with an organization called Bangla Pokkho which is known for its anti-Hindi activism and advocating the Bengali language. He alleged that youths from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are coming to the state for SSC examination and snatching the jobs of Bengali youths. He stated, “We are from the Bangla Pokkho organization and we were told that they have fake certificates. So we went there to catch them. However, some other persons associated with SSB, saved them and they ran away. We wanted to take them to the police.”
“We wanted to catch them red-handed first and then there was a plan to take them to the police,” in response to why they hadn’t notified the police beforehand. He argued that they looked at the certificates and discovered they were bogus.
