Authorities in Madhya Pradesh demolish house of Indian man accused of urinating on tribal member

Published July 6, 2023
Indian authorities raze house of man who was arrested on Wednesday for urinating on tribal worker. — Photo by Press Trust of India
Indian authorities raze house of man who was arrested on Wednesday for urinating on tribal worker. — Photo by Press Trust of India

Indian authorities demolished the home of a man accused of publicly urinating on a member of a tribal community after footage of the assault sparked public condemnation, it emerged on Thursday.

A video shared widely on social media appeared to show Pravesh Shukla urinating on his young victim in a dark street while nonchalantly smoking a cigarette.

The attack took place last year in the central Sidhi district in Madhya Pradesh, but only came to public attention this week.

Local police said Shukla had been arrested and charged in connection with the assault, which could see him fined and jailed for a year.

According to a report by India’s Hindustan Times, Shukla was arrested around 2am on Wednesday after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan issued strict directions to the police to book him under India’s National Security Act.

“The accused is currently lodged in Rewa Central Jail,” the report stated, adding that a case had been registered against the accused under sections 294 (obscene acts), and 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Authorities also demolished his home on Wednesday after it was “found to be illegally constructed”, police officer Ravinder Verma told AFP.

Local media showed a bulldozer clawing apart the roof and walls of Shukhla’s home in Madhya Pradesh state.

Meanwhile, Indian news website The Print reported that CM Mishra “washed the feet of the tribal man while sitting on the floor” of his residence in Bhopal today to express sorrow over the incident and apologised to him.

Indian news agencyANI said the country’s main opposition party, Congress, had formed a five-member committee to probe the incident.

Quoting a press release of the party, the report said the committee would investigate the matter after reaching the spot of the incident and submit a report on it by July 8.

ANI said the decision was taken after the incident became a major talking point amid the upcoming state elections.

India counts more than 100 million people as belonging to its diverse indigenous tribal communities, collectively known as Adivasis.

Along with those at the bottom rungs of Hinduism’s rigid caste hierarchy, Adivasis have been subjected to violence, prejudice and discrimination for centuries.

India has in recent years recorded numerous instances of authorities punishing suspected criminals by demolishing their homes with excavators.

Rights groups have condemned “bulldozer justice” as an unlawful exercise in collective punishment by India’s Hindu nationalist government that has disproportionately targeted the country’s Muslim minority.

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