Bhopal
The State administration on Wednesday bulldozed parts of property owned by Pravesh Shukla, accused of urinating on a tribal man, for alleged encroachment even as the police invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against him after arresting him around 2 am.
While BSP chief Mayawati had earlier in the day demanded confiscating or demolishing the accused’s property, a bulldozer was pressed into service in the evening to demolish the property owned by Pravesh in the presence of several dozen officials and police personnel.
The action came hours after a video showing a man peeing on a tribal went viral and triggered an uproar even as it acquired political connotations given the accused’s alleged links with the ruling BJP. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister went public issuing directions for booking the accused under the NSA. Chouhan’s office later tweeted, “NSA has been invoked, bulldozer has been moved and if needed, Mama ji will bury criminals 10 feet below the ground. Mama ji’s message is clear, that is why those with ill intentions – think 10 times before committing a crime in Madhya Pradesh.”
Besides invoking the NSA against him, the police have registered a case under sections 294 (obscene acts and songs), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the accused. The police said several teams were put on the job and they managed to track Shukla, who had been changing his locations. The video is said to be three months old but as soon as it went viral on Tuesday Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan directed the authorities to take stern action and ordered that the NSA be slapped against the accused.
“A viral video of Sidhi district has come to my notice. I have instructed the administration to arrest the culprit and take strict action and also impose NSA (National Security Act),” Chouhan tweeted earlier.
The video acquired political colours with photos of the accused with BJP MLA from Sidhi Kedarnath Shukla and Rajendra Shukla, a BJP MLA from Rewa, surfacing on social media. The accused’s father too has gone on record saying his son was the representative of MLA Kedarnath Shukla. However, Shukla and the BJP categorically denied any association with him.
Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath 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 the tribal community in civilised society.”
“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,” he added.
Reacting to Shukla’s arrest, BSP chief Mayawati said, “In this regard, the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh should take action against that criminal not only by NSA but by confiscating/demolishing his property, leaving aside the idea of saving the criminal and not telling him that he belongs to his party. Such incidents bring shame to everyone. “
Asked whether the accused belongs to the BJP as alleged from some quarters, Chouhan said, “Criminals have no caste, religion and party. A criminal is just a criminal. He will not be spared.” Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra also said, “Irrespective of which party he is, whoever commits mistake will be punished.”
