Four students from Calcutta University were allegedly assaulted near the Sealdah railway station in Kolkata and called “Bangladeshis” for speaking in Bengali on Wednesday, The Hindu reported.

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the incident, The Times of India reported.

The alleged incident took place when one of the students, a resident of the university’s Carmichael Hostel, visited a shop under the Sealdah bridge in the city to buy mobile accessories.

The student alleged that his attempt to bargain with the vendor intensified into an argument. The shopkeeper then allegedly called him a “Bangladeshi” for speaking in Bengali, according to The Hindu.

The student left the shop and returned with three of his friends to protest, The Times of India reported. However, the seller, along with other shopkeepers, allegedly assaulted the four students.

The students were subsequently taken to the Medical College and Hospital for treatment.

Elius Akhtar, one of the injured students, told The Times of India that the four of them asked the seller to apologise.

“But he was not ready to do so and asked us to speak in Hindi,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “We refused, saying this is Bengal where we speak in Bangla. He started using abusive language towards us, calling us Bangladeshis, while other hawkers joined in.”

Akhtar alleged that when the four students tried to return to their hostel, they were beaten with rods and hockey sticks. The vendors were also carrying knives, he claimed.

Afridi Mollah, another student who was assaulted, said that the group of sellers were speaking in Hindi. He added that they called him a “Bangladeshi and said I should do anything against him if I have the capacity,” The Hindu reported. “They snatched my mobile and tore my clothes.”

Following the incident, other students from the university held a protest outside the Muchipara Police Station and also filed a written complaint, The Hindu reported.

Two of the accused persons were arrested on Thursday morning, the newspaper quoted unidentified police officers as saying.

The incident comes amid allegations by the Trinamool Congress that Bengali-speaking workers are being discriminated against in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party on the suspicion of being Bangladeshis.

Since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the police in several states ruled by the BJP have been detaining Bengali-speaking persons – mostly Muslims – and asking them to prove that they are Indian citizens.

Several persons have been forced into Bangladesh after they allegedly could not prove their Indian citizenship. In some cases, persons who were mistakenly sent to Bangladesh returned to the country after state authorities in India proved that they were Indians.

The matter is being heard by the Supreme Court on a petition filed by the West Bengal Migrant Workers Welfare Board.

The court has sought responses from the Centre and the governments of Odisha, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and West Bengal in the matter.

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