– Shabana Javed
Kolkata: Rezaul, a final-year M.Tech student at Aliah University, was returning from the Bishwa Ijtema in Bangladesh on February 4 when he was assaulted on a local train running from Gede to Sealdah. At Payradanga station, a group of men attempted to forcibly remove him from his seat. When he resisted, they hurled abuses at him, calling him a “Bangladeshi” and accusing him of “invading India.”
One of the attackers, identified as Ajay, taunted him, saying, “Why did you come from Bangladesh? Are you here to capture India?”
The situation escalated as the group physically assaulted Rezaul, punching him, pulling his beard, and snatching away his cap. According to Rezaul, they even shouted, “Kill him now, throw him off the train!”
Rezaul’s friend, Sajid Mirza, tried to record the assault but had his phone snatched away. Recounting the ordeal, Sajid said, “They prevented us from helping him and threatened to throw me off the train if I recorded the incident. They kept saying, ‘You Bangladeshis are destroying the country. You have no education, and you are all militants.’”
After returning to his home in Meshera village, Hooghly, Rezaul received medical treatment and attempted to file a complaint at Haripal Police Station. However, the officer in-charge refused to register an FIR. His father, Rafiqul Islam Mondal, a former madrasa teacher, condemned the attack, demanding strict punishment for the culprits.
“He was beaten just because he wore a cap and had a beard. Why should he be targeted for being a Muslim?” he questioned.
On February 5, Rezaul approached the Sealdah Government Railway Police (GRP), where a case was finally registered under sections 115(2), 299, 351(2), and 3(5) of the BNS.
Rezaul recalled that when he was called a “Bangladeshi,” he protested, saying, “You are a citizen of India, and so am I. I have just as many rights in this land as you do – not an inch more, not an inch less.” His response only provoked his attackers further.
Ajay fell silent momentarily before another man from the group started shouting profanities against Rezaul and his community, repeatedly yelling, “Kill him now, throw him off the train, take away his seat, throw his bag!”
As tensions escalated, about 10 to 15 men charged at him. Ajay began pushing him, continuing to mock, “Where are you from in Bangladesh? I will send you back in a parcel!” The mob pressed him against the corner of the train, injuring his left shoulder. Some pulled his beard, tore out strands of hair, and removed his cap, throwing it under their feet. Three or four women also participated in the assault.
A lone passenger tried to shield Rezaul, urging the attackers to stop, but he was overwhelmed by the mob. “He kept pushing me away from them, but he alone couldn’t handle so many people,” Rezaul recounted.
Later, on Facebook, Rezaul shared that he was initially too shaken to file a complaint alone. “I was mentally and physically devastated, so I didn’t have the patience or energy to write everything yesterday. That’s why I couldn’t describe it fully at first.”
The attack sparked widespread condemnation. Former Kolkata Mayor and CPI(M) MP Vikas Ranjan Bhattacharya wrote on Facebook, “The attack on Rezaul in Nadia is not an isolated incident. These events are becoming frequent in a state governed by RSS politics. No one would have dared to commit such heinous acts when Left ideology prevailed in West Bengal. Over the past decade, religious divisions have been sown in our social fabric. To break this vicious cycle, a strong movement for secularism must be built.”
Bodhisattva Chakraborty, a member of the Ranaghat Passenger Association, expressed his shock, saying, “I have never heard of a case where a fellow passenger was attacked solely for belonging to a minority community.”
Umar Awais, President of Human Care Trust, urged authorities to act decisively. “We demand strict legal action against the culprits. If such hate crimes go unchecked, they will continue to threaten Bengal’s harmony.”
