Tribal man stripped, hung upside down, thrashed in MP
A tribal man in Betul, Madhya Pradesh was allegedly stripped, hung upside down and ruthlessly beaten with belts and sticks, The Indian Express reported. A video of the incident, which is said to be three months old, went viral on Tuesday after which Madhya Pradesh Police arrested two accused. The victim, who runs a food stall, said the accused were trying to extort money and assaulted him when he refused their demands for weekly payouts (locally known as hafta).
Police's response to incident
According to the NDTV, the victim was too afraid to file a complaint but was called to the police station after the video of the incident surfaced online. "I don't know why I was being beaten...they demanded money for the eatery that I run with my father," he told police. Betul Superintendent of Police Sidharth Choudhary, however, said that the incident was a fallout of an old rivalry. A case was registered and two accused have been arrested, police said.
Another tribal man attacked in Betul
In a similar case on Monday, another tribal man was brutally beaten and forced to pose as a "murga" (semi-squatting posture) in Betul. "At around 11:30pm, while I was on my way home, I was picked up near Subhash School by Chanchal Rajput and his Bajrang Dal friends. They assaulted me physically and verbally and used casteist slurs against me," the victim, namely Raju, said. Police have registered a case for the incident and launched a manhunt for the accused.
MP Congress chief demands CM's resignation
After two back-to-back incidents coming to light, state Congress President Jitu Patwari has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. He questioned why only "adivasi" community was being targeted in the state. Patwari posted on X, "Do you have personal political enmity with the tribal community? Or has @BJP4MP taken up the contract to harass the deprived class?" He also slammed the CM, alleging that "planned crimes" had become the "identity of Madhya Pradesh."
Crimes against SC, ST on decline: Reports
The latest incidents of atrocities come despite official statistics showing a decrease in crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the state. According to the police, there was a 22% decrease in severe crimes against these communities from 2022 to 2023, as reported by NDTV. In 2022, there were 11,384 reported cases, whereas the number decreased to 11,171 in 2023.
