A group of men reportedly owing allegience to the RSS stopped a vehicle transporting labour/workmen near the well known famous Madhab Choudhury college at Barpeta and asked them to shout provocative slogans. The incident took place at about 9.30 pm on June 18 while the show went on in the Lok Sabha.
Six Muslim youth who were on their way to Nepal to work at company come from Mayenbori, a riverine area of Brahmaputra refused to shout the slogans. They were then beaten up by miscreants. The group of labourer were falsely charged with shouting pro Pakistan (Pakistan Zindabad slogans) which the Muslim youth strongly denied. Later, these reportedly BJP-RSS backed miscreants later on published a video in the Facebook profile of self styled Ram Sena Supremo Yogi Debojit Deka declarations like, ‘today some Bangladeshi Muslim were passing the Barpeta town chanting Pakistan Zindabad slogans. Our Ram Sena sayemsevaks picked them and compelled them to chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ Today onwards wherever and whenever the Bangladeshi Muslims are found chanting anti-India slogans, thousands of our volunteers will reach there promptly and will compelled them to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans.
While Yogi Debojit Deka alleged that the group of Muslim youths were passing Barpeta town chanting Pakistan Zindabad slogans, the viral vidio that he published first, there appears no evidence of chanting Pakistan Zindabad slogans by the Muslim group of labourers. At the same time, the group of Muslim labourers, who Yogi Debojit Deka falsely alleged to be Bangladeshi are not Bangladeshi but indigenous Muslim of Assam, who are inhabitants of the riverine areas of Barpeta District living under extreme poverty. According to the video that was make public by Yogi Debojit Deka, (a self styled supremo of Ram Sena), it appears that a four wheeler vehicle was passing the road and was forcibly stopped by group who then started to rebuke them without any proper reason. They then demanded of the group. “Why did you chant Pakistan Zindabad slogans?” The group of labourers denied having chanted any such slogans against against India. These miscreants then simply started assaulting the workers. The miscreants also searched the bags that the group of labourer were carrying. When they found nothing in their bags, the group of miscreants asked them to chant ‘ Jai Shri Ram’. Initially, the group of labourer denied to do so and for that reason they started to beaten up the group of Muslim labourers once again. Under life threat the group of labourer finally were forced to chant. ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans repeatedly. Then they asked the group to chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, which they did promptly. They were also asked then asked to chant ‘India Murdabad’ slogans (a trap), which they refused to do and shouted ‘Bharat Zindabad’ instead. The group of miscreants then asked the group of labourer to chant ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ but they chanted ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ instead. Despite this pathetic show of public coercion, the group of miscreants accused them that they have chanted Pakistan Zindabad and started beating them again. In the meantime someone of the locality came out to the road and shouted at the miscreants. The group of miscreants hurriedly left the spot. Talking the opportunity the group of labourer also returned to their homes.
About one and half hour later at 11.30 pm, Yogi Debojit Deka, uploaded the video and declared their heroic mission through his facebook post. When the facebook post went viral on June 19, the entire state of Assam witnessed massive protest. All democratic and peace loving people of Assam opined that it was the ‘Jai Shri Ram ‘ slogans that chanted by the BJP MPs in parliament encouraged such an cowardice action of BJP-RSS members. AAMSU, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samitee and the victims of the incident lodged separate FIR at Barpeta Police Station on 19th June. Social Media went on viral condemning the barbarian incident.
Finally, it was only in response to the pressure of widespread public opinion that the Barpeta Police, on the evening of June 21, finally arrested Yogi Debojit Deka from just outside Guwahati city. All sections of democratic and peace loving people of the state welcomed this action by the Barpeta Police in booking a criminal case against Yogi Debojit Deka, the self styled supremo of the Ram Sena. At the same time, they are demanding arrest of all other culprits involved in the incident.
