Katwa (Purba Bardhaman): Just three days after the Bharatiya Janata Party government was sworn in in West Bengal, in Katwa town of Purba Bardhaman district, four Muslim men were brutally beaten and then handed over to the police by senior BJP leaders who were accompanied by members of the Bajrang Dal. The attackers suspected that the four men were smuggling cattle.Katwa is an ancient town where residents are usually keen to highlight communal harmony. The incident has stunned locals, who have trouble reconciling the violence with the history of the town.Former Katwa MLA and Trinamool Congress leader Rabindranath Chattopadhyay told The Wire: “Look at this. Their government has just taken oath, and already they are taking the law into their own hands. Such a shameful incident has never happened in our town before. I never imagined something like this could happen.”A legend at Katwa reads ‘city of harmony’. Photo: Joydeep Sarkar.What happened on May 12?Rahul Dutta, a young man from Katwa’s Madhaitola locality, identified himeslf as an eye-witness to this reporter.“Around noon, a group of five people were taking 15–20 cattle along the main road towards the nearby Ganga bank. Suddenly, a group of people who had gathered there surrounded them and started raining blows on them. The assault went on for a long time,” Dutta said.One of the five managed to escape. The attackers then made the four of them sit by the side of the road, near a local clubhouse and called the police, Dutta said. By then, all four of them were visibly injured and bleeding. After police arrived, the four were subjected to more beatings, another local, who requested not to be named, said.A video screengrab showing one of the four being beaten. Photo: Sandeep Chowdhury.Locals said that those carrying out the attack left, and the police took the injured men away. According to sources in the Katwa police, the four injured men were arrested after the May 12 incident. Salam Ansari and Saidulla Sheikh are from Nakashipara in Nadia district, and Sujaul Sheikh and Rabiul Sheikh are residents of villages around Katwa. Initially remanded to three days of police custody, they were released on bail on May 15.Their attackers claimed that the absence of a transport permit apparently proved the cattle were being smuggled to Bangladesh through Nadia. However, locals said that the men had been paid the Rs 1,500 to transport the cattle herd to a town in Nadia – a fact they learnt from the original trader who visited the scene to enquire after the cattle after the attack took place.A local trader said that the transport of cattle is a common event in the area. “There are decades-old cattle markets in Kaichar and several other areas. People buy cattle there and transport them by boat through the river to neighbouring Nadia district. Traditionally, this trade was linked to farming and dairy work. Now we hear these cattle are allegedly being smuggled to Bangladesh. But the border is guarded by the BSF. If smuggling happens, shouldn’t they stop it?”BJP vice-president Seema Bhattacharya is seen at the site of the attack in this image. Photo: By arrangement.BJP vice-president Seema Bhattacharya, who was at the site where the attack took place, told The Wire that the party had taken up the effort to “punish” smugglers.“We have taken to the streets to stop illegal cattle smuggling. It is not enough to blame only the BSF for failing to stop smuggling. These smugglers use underground routes along the border. They will be punished like this. Our government has come to power, and we will stop cattle smuggling. Bajrang Dal workers will now guard all the river ghats in the area.”At the Katwa police station, several reporters who wanted to get the police version of things were turned away.A policeman stands at the riverbank at Katwa. Photo: Joydeep Sarkar.Rural economy and cattle tradeKatwa is an agriculture-based region where animal husbandry has long been an important part of the rural economy. Members of the Muslim community are primarily involved in cattle rearing and trading.At livestock markets, buyers are given official permits for the cattle they purchase. Those buyers often later resell the animals elsewhere at higher prices.Enayet Ali, another local cattle trader, said, “Our family has been in this business for generations. We walk 25–30 kilometers at night with cattle herds, rest during the day, and then continue walking at night again. Traveling at night is easier because the roads are less crowded. If the police stop us, they usually take some money and let us go.”Ali said that it is common to keep transport permits but that many transporters avoid paying for them as well, even though it does not mean they are smuggling cattle.Newly elected BJP MLA from Katwa, Krishna Ghosh, told The Wire: “Smuggling will not continue. Cattle below 14 years of age cannot be sold. Wait a few more days to see what further steps are taken.”Ghosh did not speak on the violence.Crackdown across West BengalSince the BJP government took oath in Bengal, BJP and Sangh Parivar workers have aggressively launched campaigns against alleged cattle smuggling across the state.On May 14, it made a ‘fit-for-slaughter’ certificate mandatory for slaughtering bovine animals. The state government’s notice also barred the public slaughter of bulls, bullocks, cows, calves, buffaloes, buffalo calves and castrated buffaloes even if they had the certificate.A BJP flag at Katwa. Photo: Joydeep Sarkar.In Bardhaman town, a group transporting cattle was stopped and harassed. Similar incidents have been reported in Birbhum district. In Farakka, of Murshidabad district, BJP leaders publicly declared before journalists that after May 17, not only cattle smuggling but even the sale of beef or the operation of visible slaughterhouses would be stopped.On May 14, owners of cattle markets in Birbhum were reportedly verbally instructed by police to shut them down.In rural Bengal, many low-income members of the Ghosh community depend on dairy farming.Apurba Ghosh, a dairy farmer from Khargram in Murshidabad district, told The Wire: “Cattle rearing is our livelihood. Nearly a lakh families across the state survive by selling milk. We have five cows that produce 19–20 kilograms of milk daily.”Apurba said that a cow can live for 20 to 21 years at most. “As it ages, milk production declines. At that point, we sell the cow to cattle traders. Male calves also have to be sold because they do not produce milk. Maintaining cattle is very expensive. If we are no longer allowed to sell such cattle, we will face enormous pressure,” he added.Cattle trader Nizamuddin, also of Khargram, echoed this concern. “We mainly buy these cattle and sell them in markets, where people purchase them according to their needs. Those who buy cattle for meat usually prefer animals older than 12 to 13 years. I hear that the government will ban slaughter of younger cattle. What will happen to all of us who depend on this business?” he asked.Fear ahead of BakridFrom Katwa to Daihat, BJP flags now fly at river ghats along the Ganga. In some places police patrol the area; elsewhere it is Sangh workers who keep vigil.But because animal husbandry forms a key pillar of the rural economy, the growing religious restrictions on cattle trade have left livestock sellers stunned ahead of the upcoming Bakrid festival.Mohammad Sajjad, a trader from Katwa, said, “Of course we are afraid. Senior BJP leaders say they will ensure development for everyone. Hopefully they will understand our problems and will not prevent us from earning our livelihood legally.”(Translated from the Bengali original by Soumashree Sarkar)