Assam: Miscreants Toss Beef at Goalpara Kali Temple; Locals Demand Action

Tensions flared in Assam’s Goalpara on Monday evening after three unidentified youths tossed a bag containing beef at the premises of a Goddess Kali temple and fled. Despite attempts to nab the trio, locals were unsuccessful.

As per reports, the three individuals drove past the temple, located in the Pahartoli area of Goalpara city, on an e-rickshaw and tossed the bag. When a nearby woman questioned them, assuming they were littering the area, the trio sped off.

She alerted the people nearby, and a group chased them on their two-wheelers and brought them back. When questioned, initially, they said the bag contained parts of goat meat leftovers, and agreed to take the bag and throw it elsewhere, one of the locals said.

He said, “We were suspicious, and when we asked them show what was inside, they were reluctant initially. This only made us more suspicious, and we took the bag from them and opened it to find remains of a cattle carcass.”

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When they were exposed, while two of them dove into a nearby stream and swam away, the third suspect, who was sitting in the e-rickshaw, drove off, escaping from the scene, according to witnesses.

Thereafter, an enraged mob reached the Goalpara town outpost and filed a complaint with the police, demanding apprehension of the suspects and appropriate action against them.

Another local told reporters, “Hindus and Muslims have lived together harmoniously in Goalpara; such incidents have never surfaced before. However, as the election nears, we suspect some miscreants will willfully try to disrupt this peaceful co-existence to make it an election issue. We want the police to investigate the matter thoroughly and punish those involved.”

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