Kolkata was shaken by allegations of mob assault at Sunday’s large-scale Gita recital at the Brigade Parade Grounds, after a food vendor was reportedly beaten for selling non-vegetarian items near the venue.
A video of the incident, which was shared by the Trinamul Congress and was viral on social media, triggered sharp political reactions and prompted a formal police complaint seeking action for “attempted lynching”.
The complaint was lodged on Tuesday by advocate Sayan Bandyopadhyay at Maidan police station, the day video footage of the assault went viral. Bandyopadhyay alleged that the attack reflected “an imported culture of mob vigilantism”, accusing “fringe groups aligned with the BJP and RSS” of trying to bring “the Uttar Pradesh-style lynching culture to West Bengal”. The incident took place during the “Five Lakh Voices Gita Recitation” programme organised on Sunday by Sanatan Sanskriti Sansad, an RSS-leaning socio-cultural outfit.
While the event concluded peacefully, tension broke out soon after when a vendor selling chicken patties was confronted by a group of men who accused him of insulting the sanctity of the event by selling non-vegetarian snacks in the vicinity. The video, widely shared across social platforms, shows several men surrounding the vendor, slapping and pushing him, and forcing him to perform sit-ups while holding his ears — a humiliating punishment reminiscent of mob vigilantism elsewhere in the country. Some of the attackers are seen wearing tilaks and uttariyas.
The footage also shows the assailants overturning the vendor’s tin box and dumping all the food items on the ground. The Statesman has not independently verified the authenticity of the video. However, the visuals have sparked widespread criticism, especially from opposition parties.
Trinamul Congress spokesperson Riju Dutta strongly condemned the incident. “If the BJP comes to power in Bengal, this will be the state of affairs of Bengalis in this land. A poor vendor, who probably did not understand the nature of the event at the Brigade Ground, was assaulted for selling chicken patties. The assaulters were mostly non-Bengalis, Hindi-speaking. Maybe they came for the event from across the borders. BJP does not just want just votes here, they want to control us, what we wear, what we eat. This is time to understand their plan,” said Ruju Dutta.
Advocate Bandyopadhyay, in his complaint, urged the police to register charges of assault, criminal intimidation, and attempt to commit mob lynching. He also stressed the need for “prompt and exemplary action” to prevent similar incidents during public religious events in the city.
The BJP, however, dismissed the allegations as politically motivated. Senior BJP leader Locket Chatterjee said the party had “no involvement whatsoever” in the incident. “This is a conspiracy crafted jointly by the CPM and Trinamul Congress to malign the BJP and deflect attention from their failures. Our party workers were not involved,” she stated.
Police sources said they have received the complaint and are examining the video as part of the preliminary inquiry. No arrests had been made till the time of filing this report, and police are yet to confirm whether the individuals in the video have been identified. The incident has revived concerns about the rise of vigilantism around public religious events, with civil society groups stressing that law-and-order responsibility cannot be outsourced to mob sentiments.