INDIAN Police on Wednesday (5) arrested a man accused of urinating on a tribal youth in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district, an official said.
On Tuesday (4), an official from the state chief minister’s Office said a case was registered against the accused, identified as Pravesh Shukla, 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 under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) was also initiated, he added.
The police registered the case after a video showing the man urinating on the youth went viral on social media.
State home minister Narottam Mishra termed the man’s act as “heinous, condemnable and a shame on humanity.”
Some politicians of the main opposition party Congress have alleged that he is associated with the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) - which is also in power in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP has denied the allegation, reported the BBC.
The police also refused to comment on the allegation, saying that the "facts of the case need to be first investigated".
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said the act was shameful and condemnable and demanded demolition of the property of the accused.
“The incident of a local dabang leader urinating on a tribal/Dalit youth in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district is very shameful and extremely condemnable. It is also said that the government woke up after a video of the incident went viral, which shows their involvement," she tweeted.
According to reports, the accused was arrested at around 2am on Wednesday. He is being questioned, Additional Superintendent of Police Anjulata Patle said.
“We were searching for him and cops from different police stations around his village were on alert,” the official said.
Chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in a tweet said, “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.”
Asked why the police did not act in the matter earlier when the video of the incident went viral, home minister Mishra said all this is a matter of probe.
"This incident has put entire Madhya Pradesh to shame. Strictest punishment should be given to the guilty person and atrocities on tribal [people] in Madhya Pradesh should be stopped," Kamal Nath, a former chief minister of the state, tweeted.
(With inputs from PTI)
