Vendor branded Bangladeshi by mob, beaten in Odisha

MIDNAPORE: A 35-year-old street vendor from Bengal’s West Midnapore was beaten, tied up and abused by a mob near Charampa station in Odisha’s Bhadrak after he was branded an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant, police said Sunday. A video of the assault spread online and renewed fears among Bengali-speaking workers outside Bengal, reports Sujoy Khanra .Arshad Mallik was attacked around 8am on Dec 26 while riding to Bhadrak with goods loaded on his bike, police said. He had lived and worked in Odisha for about five years, renting a house in Kendrapara district. “They were saying, ‘Why are you attacking Hindus in Bangladesh?’ I couldn’t convince them that I am from Bengal,” Mallik said after returning home Saturday.