In another instance of hate crime, a man identified as Shaukat Ali fell victim to mob violence in Assam.

The mob suspected 68-year-old Shaukat Ali of selling beef and cornered him. They thrashed him and also proceeded to force feed him pork. The incident took place on April 7 in Assam's Biswanath Chariali town.

In a video doing the rounds on social media, Shaukat Ali can be seen kneeling in mud surrounded by an angry mob. The mob asks Shaukat Ali why he is selling beef and if he has the license to do so.

The irate mob also proceeded to demand that Shaukat Ali declare his nationality, asking if he is Bangladeshi or if he has a National Register of Citizen (NRC) certificate.

The victim, Shaukat Ali, explained that in the past four decades this is the first time he has faced such a situation in Assam.

However, the situation worsened when the miscreants started thrashing Shaukat Ali and allegedly forced him to eat pork.

Shaukat Ali said, "My father was also selling beef at that market. On that day, some youth came to the market and took footage at some hotels and they left. After 2 hours they again came and picked up me forcefully and beating me. They also kicked me in my face and brutally beaten up. I received severe injuries. They fed me pork forcefully."

A man identified as Shaukat Ali was attacked by a mob for allegedly selling beef in Assam’s Biswanath Chariali, according to Assam Police. pic.twitter.com/Fz1H2irnE4 April 8, 2019

In another video of the incident, the group can be seen manhandling Shaukat Ali and forcing him to eat meat, claimed to be pork, from a packet.

Mob thrashes man in Biswanath Chariali; forced to eat Pork.

Hope @assampolice

take strict action against this culprits. @sarbanandsonwal govt should stop this..#Assam#NYAY pic.twitter.com/naUnjF7yzu Hafeez Ur Rahman (@Haafeez_ur) April 8, 2019

Shaukat Ali received multiple injuries from the assault and is being treated in a local hospital.

The mob also misbehaved with the manager of the weekly market, Kamal Thapa.

Confirming the incident, the local police told news sites that two FIRs have been filed against unidentified persons -- one by Kamal Thapa and the other by Shaukat Ali's relatives.

The police, however, denied that the violence was communal in nature.

According to Assam police, Ali is a businessman and has been running an eatery in the area for the last 35 years.

The Assam Police DGP Kuladhar Saikia confirmed that they have arrested a person, who was allegedly involved in the mob attack incident.

DGP of Assam, Kuladhar Saikia said, "We have taken very strong step and we do not want such things to happen ever. A case has been already registered and proper investigation is done. Last night, we have arrested one person, who involved in the incident and we are looking for the other people, who might be involved in the incident."

"When a report of the incident came to the police station, police immediately reached the spot and rescued the victim. The incident was very unfortunate. We have instructed the district police to go investigation of the case. We also instructed the Superintendent of Police to hold some meetings with the local leaders, village people and talk to them to ensure peace formation. Assam Chief Minister is also very concerned about it," he added.

An FIR has been registered at Biswanath police station vide case no 80/2019 under section 143/341/325/294 (A)/295 (A)/153 (A)(B)/384 of IPC.

Meanwhile, Assam state BJP alleged that Congress is behind the incident for political gain ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

Pramod Swami, Spokesperson, Assam state BJP said, "It is a very unfortunate incident and we strongly condemned it. We feel that the Congress party has made a political conspiracy by overwhelming defeat. Our state government has taken it very seriously and will investigate."

Congress, on the other hand, refuted the allegation blaming it to be an old tactic of BJP prior to any election.

Rituparna Konwar, Spokesperson, Assam state Congress said, "This is very unfortunate, shameless and barbaric incident. Assam Pradesh Congress Committee has condemned it and also urged the government that they should act properly and booked the culprits. This is BJP’s old tactics before any election. They want to use polarise politics before election for their electoral gains."

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi also slammed the incident on Twitter, writing "I know many people who feel they're desensitized because of the number of lynchings in the last five years. I am not, each video infuriates me and saddens me."

Owaisi added, "It's irrelevant that beef is legal in Assam, lynching an innocent old man is illegal in every part of India."

I know many people who feel they’re desensitized because of the number of lynchings in the last 5 years.



I am not, each video infuriates me & saddens me



It’s irrelevant that beef is legal in Assam, lynching an innocent old man is illegal in every part of India https://t.co/aqx8LqQjki Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) April 8, 2019





While beef is not banned in Assam, cattle slaughter in the state comes under the purview of the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 1950. According to the law, only cattle above 15 years of age can be slaughtered after obtaining a "fit-for-slaughter" certificate from a state veterinarian.

(With inputs from Manogya Loiwal)