A north Calcutta resident who was returning home around 1am on Tuesday after meeting his friends for Diwali was allegedly pushed around and beaten up on the road when he protested against men bursting firecrackers.

Dhiraj Chowdhury, 37, who suffered multiple injuries, has been admitted to the ICU of a private hospital with head injuries.

A resident of 77 Girish Park North, he was returning home late on Tuesday after attending a get-together at his friend’s place not far from his home when the alleged incident happened.

“According to the victim’s statement, he was returning from his friend’s home around 1am (on Tuesday) when he found a group of men bursting crackers on the road. Suddenly, a chocolate bomb exploded, and he was startled. When he protested, four or five men pounced on him and started beating him up,” said an officer of Kolkata Police’s Central division.

Chowdhury was allegedly pushed and pinned on the road and kicked and punched until he lost consciousness.

His family members took him to a government hospital, from where they shifted him to a private hospital.

The police said Chowdhury suffered from internal injuries in his head.

He was in the ICU till Wednesday.

A formal case has been started based on the complaint of the Chowdhury’s
family.

The accused were yet to be identified, the police said.

“The victim could not identify the men on the road. Hence, a case has been lodged against unknown persons,” a senior officer of the central division said.

“We are in touch with his family. A probe has been started. We are in the process of identifying the men who were involved in the attack,” the officer said.

Sources said the police were collecting CCTV footage from cameras nearest to the spot where the man was allegedly assaulted.