A disagreement over an unpaid $1,500 bill for DJ equipment and services at a pre-wedding celebration in Jamaica, Queens turned violent this month, according to the DJ himself, who says he was surrounded, beaten, and hit with anti-Hindu slurs by as many as a dozen people. New York police arrested one man, Jami Chowdhury, on Wednesday in connection with the alleged assault, and a judge has since released him on bail ahead of a September 15 court date.
The dispute traces back to a Gaye Holud ceremony — a Bengali pre-wedding tradition in which turmeric paste is ceremonially applied to the couple ahead of their marriage, typically alongside music, catering, and large family gatherings, as Pernia’s Pop Up Shop explains of the custom observed across both Muslim and Hindu Bengali communities. The celebration, held August 16 for Chowdhury’s son at a party hall in Jamaica, Queens, is where DJ Anup Kumar Esh says he was hired to provide sound equipment and services for an agreed fee of $1,500, according to The Financial Express. Esh alleges that after the event, organizers offered him only $400, and what followed was a physical assault by Chowdhury and several others.
Esh says he was subjected to religious abuse during the altercation and believes he was targeted in part because he is Hindu and outspoken in support of his community, per the same outlet’s report. He has accused those involved of making religiously offensive remarks toward him, and he alleges he was threatened and intimidated, including a threat on his life as he attempted to call 911.
Police and Paramedics Responded to Emergency Call
Private investigator Shakti Gupta told bdnews24.com that both NYPD officers and paramedics were dispatched directly to the party hall following the emergency call reporting a multi-person assault. Esh was taken to the hospital with injuries and received medical attention, according to the report. He was allegedly assaulted by 10 to 12 people in total, though only Chowdhury has been arrested so far…