An elderly Muslim man was attacked and allegedly forced to eat pork by a group of Hindus in India’s eastern state of Assam over the weekend after being accused of selling beef, it emerged on Tuesday.
The attack on Shaukat Ali, 68, took place in a market in Biswanath district on Sunday, NDTV reported.
In a video that surfaced on social media, Ali was seen kneeling down and being attacked by a group of men who also questioned him about his identity.
Biswanath district police superintendent Rakesh Roshan said police had registered a report after receiving a complaint from Ali that he was assaulted, called a Bangladeshi and forced to eat pork, Hindustan Times reported.
According to NDTV, a separate complaint has been filed by family members of the elderly man. Police have begun an investigation into the claims and are on the lookout for the men seen in the video.
Someone in the mob can be heard saying in the video: "Are you Bangladeshi? Is your name in the NRC (National Register of Citizens)?", NDTV reported.
Assam is seeking to enforce the NRC in an attempt to do away with illegal citizens.
A final version of the draft, published in July last year, stripped four million people in the northeastern state of citizenship, leaving them potentially stateless and facing an uncertain future.
Also read: Assam’s controversial citizens’ list unites Modi’s opponents
According to the news website Scroll.in, Assam has a complex and somewhat ambiguous law on cattle slaughter.
The Assam Cattle Preservation Act of 1950 allows the slaughter of cattle over 14 years of age or those incapable of work or of being used for breeding. The law stipulates that such cattle will be given a “fit-for-slaughter certificate” by a doctor of the state husbandry and animal welfare department.
Unlike many other Indian states, the law in Assam does not distinguish between buffaloes and cows or bulls.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its manifesto released on Monday said it "will expeditiously complete" the NRC on a priority basis. It also said it would enforce the NRC in phases throughout the country, according to NDTV.