"Man stabbed for protest against drinking" is one news headline seen often for few districts around Kolkata.
The news report says a 38-year-old man,Pradip Das was repeatedly stabbed by a goon on Sunday when he protested against him drinking alcohol in a playground at Sodepur in North 24-Parganas. He was admitted to Khardah Balaram State General Hospital with several stab injuries and is now undergoing treatment. The police have launched a manhunt for the accused, Surajit Dey , who has gone into hiding even as the residents staged a demonstration, demanding his immediate arrest.
The attack is almost a re-run of the murder of anti-hooch crusader Sourav Chowdhury at Bamangachi who was chopped into pieces for protesting against illegal liquor dens and gambling rackets op erating in the area.
According to residents of Sodepur's M N Chatterjee Road, Dey and his friends would openly drink in the playground adjacent to Ramakrishna Sporting Club and drunken brawls were a regular phenomenon.Some outsiders would also sometimes join in the drinking session.
The elderly people from the area objected to it,but they were heckled by the drunkards.A woman from the area said,"when the youngsters from the locality, including members of the sporting club, would play volleyball on the ground the accused threatened those boys with dire consequences if they don't stop playing. Even we were too scared to go for evening walks in the ground."
Fed up with the highhandedness of the group, Pradip, a private firm employee, was among the first to raise his voice against them. “A couple of days ago, Pradip went to the ground for a stroll in the evening. When he saw the group of six to seven people sitting there, drinking, he asked them to leave. Refusing to budge, Dey and two of his friends attacked Pradip, who also hit back. When some other residents of the area also joined Pradip, Dey and his associates left, but not before threatening him,“ said Gopal Ghosh, a club member.
India Honest is worried on the unending attempts by the drunkards taking resort to violent threats and attacks, it has hugely demoralised the common man, even gradually loosing trust on the protective police forces and the Government.