An elderly man was allegedly hit on the head after he protested against a group drinking in the open in front of Ganesh Talkies on December 26, police said.

The man assaulted has been identified as Swapan Dey, 64, a police officer said.

He lodged a formal complaint with Girish Park police station on Tuesday (January 6), the officer added.

According to police officers, Dey was chatting on Balaram Dey Street with his friends, all of them senior citizens, when a group of young men arrived at the spot and started to consume alcohol.

“Initially, we did not say anything. But when they started to misbehave under the influence of alcohol, one of my friends, Pawan Singh, protested. He is also a senior citizen. So were my other friends,” said Dey, who lives close to the spot where the alleged assault took place.

“Pawan was requesting the boys not to consume alcohol at that place as the area was congested and we, senior citizens, were sitting nearby. I also requested the group to listen to Pawan. Just then, one of them picked up an argument with me,” said Dey on
Wednesday.

The old north Calcutta neighbourhood is dotted with residential buildings along narrow lanes and bylanes. The auto stand located nearby keeps the area lively with a mix of pedestrians and drivers, including men, women, and children.

The conversation that started with a piece of advice from an elderly Calcuttan snowballed into a scuffle, leading to the assault, the police said.

Dey said he was struck on the head, and he was bleeding.

As Dey fell on the road and his friends got busy attending to him, the accused men fled from the spot.

Dey, along with his friends, went to a hospital for a medical examination. The group, however, did not report the assault to the police immediately.

“A preliminary inquiry was conducted after which a formal FIR was drawn. The accused men have been identified. They have been served notices under Section 41 of the CrPC, directing them to appear before the police,” said a senior officer of the central division.

No one had been arrested till Wednesday evening.

Calcutta has encountered similar situations incited by rowdy local troublemakers.

A man in Dum Dum was reportedly set ablaze by residents who had recently returned from a Kali puja procession.

In Sarsuna, a group attempted to force their way into a woman’s home after she objected to an immersion procession that was igniting prohibited firecrackers at her doorstep.