A Muslim woman was arrested and her minor son detained in Assam’s Goalpara district after the boy allegedly brought beef in his school tiffin and tried to make two Hindu classmates eat it, police said.
The incident took place at a government higher secondary school in Krishnai town and has sparked tensions in the communally sensitive district.
Police said the woman, identified as Noor Sahida Begum, allegedly prepared the food brought by her son to school. Both were booked under provisions related to criminal conspiracy, wrongful restraint, deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious sentiments, and criminal acts done by several persons under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
FIR Filed After Parents’ Complaint
The case was registered after the families of two Hindu students lodged complaints at the local police station.
According to police, the alleged incident took place on Friday when a Class 9 student brought beef biryani in his tiffin box. Officials said four other Muslim students were also present and allegedly tried to offer the food to Hindu classmates.
The minor boy was produced before a juvenile court, while police continued questioning the four other students.
A senior police official said the matter escalated after news of the incident spread outside the school, drawing the attention of local organisations and increasing tensions in the area.
Family Denies Allegation of Force
However, the father of one of the four students questioned by police denied claims that the Hindu students were forced to eat beef.
According to him, the student who brought the tiffin was sharing beef biryani with Muslim classmates when two Hindu students approached and asked what they were eating.
“He had only offered the rice, not the meat,” he claimed, adding that the Hindu students refused to eat and informed teachers.
The parent further alleged that school authorities initially tried to resolve the matter internally, but it intensified after the students informed their families and local Hindutva groups allegedly became involved.
School May Expel Five Students
School authorities are now considering disciplinary action against the five Muslim students allegedly involved.
Members of the School Management Development Committee (SMDC) are expected to meet to take a final decision on a proposal to expel them.
SMDC president Subrata Das said teachers and the principal initially tried to handle the issue within the school because of its sensitive nature, but the matter escalated after local groups intervened.
District officials, including the Goalpara District Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police, later visited the school to review the situation.
Only Vegetarian Tiffins Allowed
Following the controversy, the school administration has directed students to bring only vegetarian food in their tiffin boxes.
District Commissioner Prodip Timung said he had instructed education officials that students should “at most be allowed to bring eggs” and that fish and meat should not be allowed in school tiffins.
Meanwhile, some local community leaders appealed for calm and communal harmony.
Local student leader Manidul Islam opposed the proposal to expel the students, saying, “Whatever the matter is, students should not be deprived of education because of this. We need to focus on bringing back communal harmony to this area where all of us live as neighbours.”
