Kolkata court grants bail to 3 held for assaulting vendors selling chicken patties at Gita recital event (Ld)
Kolkata – On Thursday, a city court granted bail to Soumik Golder, Swarnendu Chakraborty and Tarun Bhattacharya after they were taken into custody for assaulting two food stall owners at a Gita recital held on December 7. Each man posted a bond of ₹1,000 before being released.
The defendants’ lawyer explained that the accused had found chicken inside the vegetable‑patties they had bought, while the public prosecutor insisted that the incident hurt religious sentiments. A separate written complaint was lodged against one of the assaulted vendors, Sheikh Riyazul, at the Maidan police station, accusing him of selling non‑vegetarian patties as vegetarian during the event at Brigade Parade Ground.
During the hearing, the defence argued that the vendors had requested purely vegetarian patties, but that a chicken portion was discovered when the patties were opened. The lawyer also highlighted that Soumik Golder is undergoing cancer treatment and has lost a leg, urging the court to grant bail to all three.
The prosecutor counter‑ed, stating that the defence was presenting its own version of events. He repeated that the assault on the two vendors at the Maidan event was intended to shock religious sensibilities, which he said made the offence non‑bailable. He asked for the accused to remain in police custody, yet the judge decided to grant bail.
Union Minister of State for Education and DoNER, Sukanta Majumdar, called for the unconditional release of those arrested. “The problem is not about selling patties. The problem is about selling chicken patties while claiming them to be vegetable. There is a difference between the two. I eat chicken. But someone else might not. You cannot make them eat chicken by lying to them. That is a crime,” he said.
Kolkata Police had arrested the three men for publicly harassing and assaulting two vendors who were selling chicken patties at Brigade Parade Ground during the Gita recital on Sunday. The accused, aged 23, 51 and 32 respectively, are from Gobardanga, Ashoknagar and Uttarpara. Their arrests followed complaints from the vendors at Maidan police station.
The incident occurred at the “Panch Lakkho Konthe Gita Path” event, organised by the Sanatan Sanskriti Sansad, a coalition of monks and spiritual leaders from various monasteries and Hindu institutions. The vendors, Sheikh Riyazul and Mohammad Salauddin, were offering food to a sizeable crowd when several young men questioned them about selling chicken patties at a religious gathering. The confrontation escalated into shouting, harassment, and physical assault, including forced sit‑ups and slaps. A video of the altercation went viral on social media, and one vendor estimated the food damage at around ₹3,000. Following the event, the two victims filed separate complaints at Maidan police station, prompting an investigation that incorporated CCTV footage and identified the accused, leading to their arrest.
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