Ambicapatty: "Threatened and Assaulted for Not Meeting Rs 5,000 Donation Demand," Claims Subhadip Roy of Chaivours; "Spreading Lies," Says Puja Committee

Ambicapatty, the education hub of Silchar, home to numerous coaching centres, schools, colleges, and residents, including teachers, recently witnessed an incident where a young entrepreneur, Subhadip Roy, was assaulted. Videos have surfaced on social media showing a mob attacking Subhadip Roy at his store in Ambicapatty.

According to Roy, the Silchar Smashan Road Durga Puja Committee had demanded a donation of Rs 5,000, while he offered to pay Rs 500. “It’s a donation to the Goddess, and I should be able to decide how much to give. However, the Puja Committee members initially demanded Rs 5,000 and then started threatening me. This evening, they entered my shop and began yelling at us,” Roy stated.

He added, “One of the members who entered the shop was drunk and verbally abused us. Another member got out of a red car and demanded that we remove the motorcycles parked in front of the shop. I handed over my motorcycle keys to a friend, who was a customer. As I went to give him the keys with a spatula in my other hand, the mob accused me of trying to assault them. They then attacked me, and I got injured on my head and fingers.”

On the other hand, the Puja Committee members have denied the allegations. According to a press statement from one of the committee members, they were marching with the idols to the pandal when their progress was “obstructed” by “unauthorised parking” in front of Roy’s store. “There are food stalls in that area, and motorcycles are often parked haphazardly in front of them, obstructing traffic. Today, the same issue occurred, and we asked the stalls to remove the motorcycles from the road. At that point, this boy (Subhadip Roy) came running out with a spatula, threatening to hit us.”

The incident has been reported to the police, and the Officer-in-Charge of Silchar Sadar had summoned the Puja Committee members. A member of the committee countered Roy’s claims, stating, “He is spreading lies. Yes, we went to his shop for a donation, but we never made such a demand. In fact, he agreed to pay Rs 700, which we noted. He is yet to pay the agreed amount. In his police complaint, he also claimed he was assaulted by a mob. If a mob had attacked him, he wouldn’t be as hale and healthy as he is now.”

Two conflicting narratives have emerged, leaving it to the police to investigate. If local stores are being threatened for “chanda” (donations) as Roy claims, this would be a clear case of extortion – Gunda Raaj. On the other hand, if unauthorised parking is obstructing traffic, it becomes a matter of law and order.