A man was detained by police in the Madhya Pradesh state of central India for publicly urinating on a tribal worker.
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, a law designed to defend historically oppressed groups, forms the basis for the charges of Pravesh Shukla.
He was detained after a video of him urinating on the man was widely shared on social media.
Outrage over the incident has spread across the country.
He is allegedly connected to the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in power both nationally and in the state of Madhya Pradesh, according to some Congress politicians of the main opposition party. The BJP has refuted the accusation.
In addition, the police declined to respond to the allegation, stating that “the facts of the case need to be first investigated”.
Discrimination against tribespeople and other members of India’s lower castes, estimated at 200 million, continues on a daily basis despite laws designed to protect them.
Due to a harsh Hindu caste system that casts them at the bottom of the ladder, they are some of the most oppressed citizens of the country.
In the video, which went viral on Tuesday, Mr. Shukla is seen smoking a cigarette and urinating on the face of a man who is sitting by the side of the road. Apparently, Mr. Shukla was intoxicated when the incident occurred.
Several people called for his arrest after the video went viral.
“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 Madhya Pradesh, tweeted on Tuesday.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister, also expressed his outrage and warned that the administration would use the strict National Security Act (NSA) against him.
The accused, Pravesh Shukla, allegedly has connections to BJP lawmaker Kedarnath Shukla, according to claims made by Congress spokesperson Abbas Hafeez. Additionally, Mr. Hafeez posted pictures of the two of them together.
Although Pravesh Shukla has not yet released a statement, his father Ramakant has claimed that the opposition is targeting his son because “he is the representative of the BJP legislator.”.
He was quoted by local media as saying, “I hope there is a thorough investigation in the case, and justice is served”.
However, lawmaker Kedarnath Shukla denied the accusations and claimed to be unaware of the identity of the accused.
“When I go out in the constituency, there are many people who come with me. I attend so many programmes. He is not a BJP member,” he said.
Source-BBC
