Muslim cleric allegedly beaten up in Rongpur; tension prevails

Last night hundreds gathered at Rongpur Police outpost demanding immediate action against individuals who attacked a Muslim cleric (Moulvi). The situation in Rongpur continues to remain tense. Last evening, a Muslim cleric identified as Hussain Ahmed Barlaskar was beaten by a group of young individuals. Reports of attack on auto-rickshaw drivers, taxi drivers and other hawkers and vendors in Sadarghat area have also surfaced.

At around 9:00 pm last night, cleric’s son Abadur Ahmed Barlaskar lodged a complaint against Sanjeeb Das, Abhi Das, Avinash Das, Bapon Das, Kiron Roy, Shibendra Ghosh, Shiv Das and Sudhangshu Roy. In the complaint, Abadur Ahmed Barlaskar mentions that in the evening when his father was returning from the market a group of people stopped his scooter and started beating him. According to his complaint, his father identified the above-mentioned individuals as the assaulters. The cleric was sent to Silchar Medical College and Hospital for treatment.

The protestors demonstrated in front of Rongpur Police Station for a while. To bring the situation under control superintendent of Police in-charge Pratap Sinha along with a huge battalion of Police officials reached the spot. He was accompanied by, additional SP, Jagadish Das, additional SP (border) Gaurav Agarwal, in charge of Silchar Sadar Police station, Ditumoni Goswami. The senior officials held many meetings with senior citizens, intellectuals belonging to both the religious communities to restore peace in the area.