Three students of Kolkata’s Aliah University were allegedly beaten and subjected to Islamophobic slurs while returning from class, with the attackers calling them “jihadi” and “jangi”, Maktoob and The Observer Post reported.

Md Ashique Billah, 24, Moyajjem Hossain, 23, and Hasanur Jaman, 24, were walking towards Sealdah railway station on September 24 after attending classes at the university’s Taltala campus when two men allegedly confronted them near GD Hospital on Lenin Sarani Road.

Maktoob managed to spoke with Ashique and he said, the men arrived on a black-and-white scooter, blocked their path and began abusing them. The students said they tried to avoid a confrontation but were accused of abusing the men.

The situation allegedly escalated when one of the men slapped Ashique. The students said the attackers then repeatedly slapped and punched them, pulled at their clothes and threatened to kill them.

Ashique said the men repeatedly called them “jihadi” and “jangi”, apparently referring to their beards, traditional clothing and skullcap.

“They looked at us, scanned us through our beard and topi and called us jihadi,” Ashique told Maktoob.

Md Motasim Billah, a student representative at Aliah University who later spoke with the three students, said Hasanur was punched in the face and suffered bleeding from his teeth, while Ashique sustained a head injury.

According to the students, one of the attackers attempted to drag Ashique into a nearby lane while the other two students tried to intervene.

The students went to Taltala police station within an hour of the incident accompanied by several fellow students. They said police advised them to submit a written complaint rather than register a first information report (FIR).

The students also asked police to examine CCTV footage from the area. However, Motasim alleged that an officer described one of the alleged attackers as mentally unstable and a “weed smoker”.

One of the alleged attackers was also present at the police station, according to Motasim, who said the man made threatening gestures towards Ashique.

A local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader allegedly warned the students against filing an FIR, saying they could face a counter-case. The students ultimately sought preventive action and increased security along the routes used by students rather than pursuing an FIR.

Maktoob said it contacted Taltala Police for comment and would update its report if a response is received.

The incident has also renewed concerns among students about alleged Islamophobic harassment in the area. Motasim said female students had previously reported being called “mulli” and “children of jihad” while passing through the same route.

Aliah University, founded as a madrasa in 1780 and granted university status in 2007, offers programmes ranging from Islamic Theology and Arabic to science, engineering, management and journalism.

Students and representatives have rejected what they describe as the portrayal of Aliah students as potential security threats because of their religious identity and academic background.

“Aliah does not produce terrorists,” Motasim said, arguing that students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds attend the university to pursue education and build careers.

The alleged assault comes amid heightened political and administrative scrutiny of madrasas in West Bengal. The report also noted recent changes affecting madrasa administration and the transfer of Aliah University’s administrative control from the Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department to the Higher Education Department.

Ashique said the incident had left him concerned about broader attitudes towards Muslim students.

“Just because we are Muslims doesn’t mean we are involved in unlawful, nefarious, or undemocratic activities,” he said.