Kolkata: Within 24 hours of a tragic fire claiming the lives of two labourers at Tiljala in Kolkata, bulldozers arrived at the Muslim-majority neighbourhood, leading to destruction and a standoff. At the adjoining Park Circus Seven-Point crossing, a bustling intersection, a protest against the bulldozing action took place on May 17. According to Kolkata Police, a mob attacked security forces during the protests, however, by its own admission, injuries to cops were minimal. On May 18, local activist Faridul Islam who had been present at the site of the protest was arrested near a toll gate, while on his way to the burial of a deceased relative. Several others were held as well, taking the total number of arrests because of the protest to 46.But Beniapukur Police have centred the probe of the unrest at the protest site on Islam, whom they have claimed to be the “main conspirator,” alleging that he orchestrated the protest through social media. Two days later, the police reportedly conducted an official crime-scene reconstruction. During that exercise on May 19, officials from the Beniapukur Police Station allegedly tied a rope around Islam’s waist and paraded him through the neighbourhood.Islam’s counsel sought bail on the grounds of him being “falsely implicated” but Islam was denied bail five times and will remain in judicial custody till June 9. Faridul Islam (third from left) in a protest against the SIR. Photo: Votadhikar Rakhya Mancha/Facebook.A familiar face in the area since the anti-National Register of Citizens (NRC)-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests and, more recently, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) protests, Islam’s treatment in the hands of police has come under criticism. Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) activist Rangta Munshi, an advocate, described the incident of his alleged parading around the neighbourhood as “a violation of human rights.” In a press release issued on May 29, APDR condemned the practice of tying accused persons with ropes and publicly parading them as a “colonial” and “barbaric” practice that violates constitutional guarantees of dignity and due process.According to rights activists Kamal Sur, Rangta Munshi, and Nisha Biswas, the authorities walked Islam into his own house in front of neighbours and acquaintances who knew him as a “smiling, secular YouTuber,” who consistently spoke about the rights of marginalised people. The Wire has reached out to Kolkata Police for their comment on the manner in which Islam was taken back to the scene of the crime. Authorities have described Islam as a “mastermind” behind the protest at Park Circus. But advocate Sunanda Kundu, practising in District and Sessions Court, South Alipur, and one of Islam’s lawyers, said Islam has been targeted because he is “movement-facing”.The story before the storyThe month-old Suvendu Adhikary-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Bengal has launched a bulldozer offensive in line with how the machine has emerged in recent years as a potent symbol of state-backed aggression against Muslims and working-class people in several BJP-ruled states. As per the Supreme Court hearing in Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind vs North Delhi Municipal Corporation & Others, the Supreme Court stay order on the Jahangirpuri bulldozer action in 2022, and the 2024 guidelines where the apex court held that “the state and its officials cannot take arbitrary action against suspects or convicts without following due process of law,” prior notice must be given, an opportunity for hearing must be provided, the demolition process should be videographed, and transparency must be maintained during such evictions. Nisha Biswas, scientist and senior civil-rights activist, who works with organisations such as APDR and Feminists in Resistance (FIR), pointed out that no rehabilitation was offered to those whose homes were demolished. “On May 17, residents in areas such as Tiljala were frightened and gathered near Park Circus. The crowd was small, men and women together, and they staged a protest. Initially, the police allowed it, then they used batons. There was some stone-pelting afterwards,” Biswas said. Protestors disperse after being lathicharged by the police during their protest against a recent demolition drive at Tijala area among other issues, at Park Circus area, in Kolkata, Sunday, May 17, 2026. Photo: PTI.Police have booked Islam under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and other laws. The charges include rioting and rioting while armed with a deadly weapon (sections 191(2) and 191(3)); voluntarily causing hurt and grievous hurt (sections 115(2) and 117(2)); and voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant while discharging official duties (sections 121(1) and 121(2)). He has also been charged with criminal conspiracy under Section 61(2), knowingly being a member of an unlawful assembly under Section 189(2), and intentionally causing damage to public property under Section 324. Additional charges include Section 299 of the BNS, relating to deliberate or malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of a class of persons. The case further invokes Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, which deal with punishment for causing damage to public property, as well as Sections 7(a) and 8(3) of the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act, concerning attempts to enter protected places and acts of sabotage. Also read: Targeting the Poorest, the Bulldozer Comes to BengalHowever, interviews with members of Votadhikar Rakhya Manch, a coalition that had held a peaceful 68-day sit-in over voter deletions, and the ‘No NRC’ movement, of which Islam was an active member of, say otherwise. According to accounts of multiple members of the Park Circus Maidan-based (with participation from across Kolkata and West Bengal) Manch, the May 17 protest call was not given by anyone in the group and that includes Islam, a fellow member. At Sealdah Court on May 24, Islam’s wife Husna told The Wire that on May 17, Islam was on his way to an exhibition at Milan Mela when he stopped after seeing a crowd gathered at Park Circus. Husna insisted he had nothing to do with Sunday’s protest. Upon reaching the Park Circus Seven-Point crossing, Islam went live through his YouTube channel Howrah TV, talking about SIR-deleted voters.“He stayed there out of curiosity and to show people the news, and he conducted a Facebook Live from there, but he didn’t make any provocative comment,” a prominent activist associated with the No NRC movement since 2019, said, requesting anonymity. “Since Faridul is a known name and face, he was asked for a byte by some Bengali channel, and that was it,” his brother-in-law told The Wire at the court premises.When The Wire spoke with Islam at the court premises on May 24, he alleged that he was physically assaulted by fellow arrested persons on the provocation of the police. Islam’s allegation is significant because Indian constitutional law places a duty on the state to protect the dignity and physical safety of persons in custody. Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, which the Supreme Court has repeatedly interpreted to include protection from custodial violence, torture, and degrading treatment. In the landmark case D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997), the court held that custodial torture violates fundamental rights and laid down mandatory safeguards governing arrest and detention. The Wire has reached out to Kolkata Police seeking their official version on Islam’s allegation of suffering physical assault while in custody. The story will be updated should we receive a response.Activists noted that out of the several who were held, police appeared to want to make an example out of Islam. “They tied a rope around Faridul’s waist. They wanted to show a weakened Faridul, sending a bigger message to the community, asking them not to dare to protest again,” said another activist, requesting anonymity.West Bengal-based political and civil-rights activist Kamal Sur noted that such action often follows public outpourings. “Whenever the government wants to create fear and terror among those who protest against the government’s wrongdoings, the government does this,” Sur added.According to other rights activists, the rope tied around Islam’s waist during the crime-scene reconstruction served little apparent investigative purpose and instead functioned as a public display of state power, portraying a political dissenter in a position of helplessness. Why Islam?When media reports describe the official version calling Islam the “mastermind” behind the Park Circus unrest, locals and activists associate a different public image with him.People who have known him through those movements describe him as a “highly secular,” “jolly,” approachable organiser “with a smiling face, who never spoke in a high tone,” and who frequently spoke about the rights of marginalised communities. Saifullah, a professor and senior organising member of the Votadhikar Rakhya Manch, described Islam as a “human rights worker” and “a passionate social worker.”Police personnel lathicharge protestors during protest against a recent demolition drive at Tiljala area among other issues, at Park Circus area, in Kolkata, Sunday, May 17, 2026. Photo: PTI.Islam, who was vocal against NRC and SIR, was determined to take his resistance beyond local confines. In late April 2026, he travelled to Bengaluru and Delhi to build a nationwide anti-SIR coalition, in a bid to unite disparate groups across party and community lines. In Bengaluru on April 23, on the day of the first phase of elections in West Bengal, all organisations in the city united for a rally. Parties, mass groups, Dalit organisations, Muslim outfits, and various other minority bodies were present on the same stage under the message “Karnataka stands with Bengal.” Most declared unanimous resistance to the SIR.In Delhi from April 25 to 28, Islam was part of separate meetings, committed to building a broader consensus and political pressure demanding SIR be stopped or cancelled.But beyond politics, Islam’s appeal lay in his ability to speak about those facing electoral disenfranchisement, across the fault lines of caste, religion, gender, and party affiliations. He believed that grassroots organisations must unite to fight “logical discrepancy,” a term uniquely introduced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the course of the West Bengal SIR exercise. Activists who worked with Islam believe his efforts to build an all-India anti-SIR network may help explain why authorities focused so heavily on him. In their view, he had begun evolving from a local organiser into a figure capable of connecting citizenship movements across states. Biswas said her acquaintance with Islam dates back to 2019, during the NRC and CAA movements. “From then on, and even recently, when the movement against SIR happened, he was active; he was seen speaking every day, whether in marches, in meetings, or somewhere else, and he presented his standpoint extremely, very strongly. That standpoint, I suppose, has put the state in difficulty,” Biswas said. “The strong standpoint is his opposition to SIR; why it needs to be opposed. Just as NRC is happening, this process of invalidating one class of people: marginalised sections, among whom there are Muslims, certainly Adivasis, Dalits, and women, everyone is being subjected to a kind of invalidation process, and he has always presented his standpoint opposing that. That it is unconstitutional; that is what he has been raising his voice about, and that has put the state in difficulty,” she explained.Islam had also petitioned the Supreme Court and the President of India seeking euthanasia, saying he would rather die than bear the “indignity” of being stripped of his voting rights, despite being a legitimate citizen. The letter drew attention among citizenship-rights campaigners and further raised his profile, a dangerous figure to a state intent on containing the SIR debate.The heart of the anti-SIR protestThe SIR of the electoral roll is being framed by the government as a routine exercise to clean up voter lists. But for communities that have lived through the process of deletion and under adjudication, SIR evokes the fear of a “Detect. Delete. Deport” drive.Retired economics professor Sukhendu Sarkar reminded that in fear of SIR, almost 220 people in West Bengal have had panic attacks, died or committed suicide. At the core of the anti-SIR protests is a moral claim: citizenship is not a favour granted by the state; it is a right rooted in belonging and contribution. Protestors argue that nobody who has given their labour to build this nation can be an “un-citizen.”Munshi noted that Islam “was himself SIR deleted” and that he “always participated in all our protests with all the activists, in good faith and spirit.”Beyond the legal procedure of the bail hearing, the broader question is whether West Bengal will permit a citizenship debate at all during SIR.The Votadhikar Rakhya Mancha has discontinued its 68-day sit-in, with a source choosing to remain anonymous saying political clashes between BJP and TMC workers outside Shimla Biryani in Topsia compelled them not to take any “additional risk”.For supporters, Islam’s arrest represents something larger than the prosecution of one individual. It raises questions about whether public opposition to SIR and citizenship-related policies will increasingly be treated as a law-and-order issue rather than a legitimate form of democratic participation.Kamal Sur said: “Those who want to practise democracy, the government is cutting them down.”Supporters and civil-rights activists argue that the arrest risks sending a broader message: that challenging SIR, opposing demolition drives, or organising around citizenship rights may invite severe consequences. Yet others believe such measures could have the opposite effect.“If people’s backs are pushed to the wall, there will be a spontaneous rebellion,” Sarkar said.Sanhati Banerjee is an independent journalist.Note: Husna Islam’s words to The Wire on May 17 were mistakenly represented as her words in court in an earlier version. The error has been corrected.