In a despicable incident, a man urinated on the face of a tribal man in Madhya Pradesh.
It is not known when the incident took place but on Tuesday, a video of the deplorable act went viral with severe condemnation on social media platforms.
The man in the video has been reportedly identified as Pravesh Shukla, who, according to Congress leader Abbas Hafeez, is a close aide to BJP MLA Kedar Nath Shukla. The video shows Pravesh casually urinating while smoking.
“The BJP leader, who talks falsely about the interests of the tribals, is pissing on a tribal poor person like this. Very condemnable act. @ChouhanShivraj Yes, is this your tribal love?? What to call this Jungle Raj and why the BJP leader was not arrested? The name of the accused is being told as Pravesh Shukla, who is the representative of the BJP MLA. The MLA is Kedar Nath Shukla. There are photographs of the accused urinating on the tribal youth along with veteran BJP leaders,” Hafeez tweeted from his official page.
Hafeez added photos of Shukla with many senior BJP leaders of the state.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Naresh Balyan called Pravesh Shukla as ‘devil’.
“This video is said to be from Madhya Pradesh, and information is coming that this person is the direct representative of the BJP MLA. Respected. @ChouhanShivraj Yes, this devil is not doing it on the face of that poor man but on your system. It is your responsibility that no one should trouble that poor person,” he tweeted.
The ruling BJP denied the allegation of the accused’s connection with the party and the MP police in Sidhi district on Tuesday registered a case after the video went viral online.
“A viral video from Sidhi district has come to my notice….I have instructed the administration to arrest the culprit and take the strictest action and also invoke the National Security Act,” Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in a tweet.
An official from the Chief Minister’s Office said a case was registered against the accused, identified as Pravesh Shukla, at Bahari police station under Indian Penal Code sections 294 (obscene acts), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Action against the stringent NSA was also initiated, he added.
State Congress chief Kamal Nath in a statement said, “A video of atrocity of (a man) urinating on a tribal youth from Sidhi district of the state has surfaced. There is no place for such a heinous act with the youth of tribal community in civilised society.
The former chief minister also said that the culprit was said to be associated with the BJP
Madhya Pradesh already ranks first when it comes to atrocities against tribals, he said.
“This incident has put entire Madhya Pradesh to shame….strictest punishment should be given to the guilty person and atrocities on tribals in Madhya Pradesh should be stopped,” Nath added.
Both the BJP and Congress have been trying to woo the tribal community in the state ahead of the year-end Assembly elections.
Pawan Khera, chairman of the Congress’s Media and Publicity Department, shared the video clip along with a picture of a banner on which the accused was described as `Vidhayak Pratinidhi Sidhi’.
“In the 21st century, such inhuman atrocities are happening with the tribals of our country and we are dreaming of becoming Vishwaguru! What could be more embarrassing for all of us than this?” he tweeted.
(With inputs from PTI)