BJYM leader thrashes tribal in MP, booked; Congress calls ruling regime party of atrocities

Bhopal/Anuppur: The opposition Congress accused the ruling regime in Madhya Pradesh of failing to check atrocities against tribals after a video purportedly showing a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leader beating a man with slippers in Anuppur district went viral.

MP Congress chief Kamal Nath alleged the ruling BJP is becoming a “party of tribal atrocities”. BJYM is the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Meanwhile, the police have registered a case against the accused BJYM leader, who was also expelled by the party.

Sub Divisional Officer of Police Sumit Kerketta said that one Hirwa Singh Gond (57) and Bhoma Singh (60) were travelling on a motorcycle from Rajendra Nagar to Anuppur when their two-wheeler collided with a pick-up vehicle on Monday.

Bhoma Singh died on the spot following which a large number of people gathered at the spot, the official said However, two persons beat up Gond, who was riding the motorcycle, he said. A video of the assault of the tribal man later went viral.

The two accused, identified as Jitendra Kushwaha and Ganesh Dixit, were booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the official said. A probe has been started and further legal steps are being taken, he said.

BJP district president Ramdas Puri said Dixit, who was BJYM Mandal president (rural), has been expelled from the organisation. The BJP believes in social service and there is no place for violence in the party, he said.

Sharing a video of the assault on his X account, Congress chief Kamal Nath claimed on Wednesday that a BJP leader was beating a tribal man with slippers.

“BJP is becoming a party of tribal atrocities in Madhya Pradesh. What do you want? When you cannot stop atrocities on tribals then at least resign from the post of Chief Minister,” Nath said in a post on X.

शिवराज सिंह चौहान जी आप यह वीभत्स वीडियो देखकर अनदेखा नहीं कर सकते। अनूपपुर जिले में एक आदिवासी व्यक्ति के शव के बगल में भारतीय जनता पार्टी का नेता दूसरे आदिवासी व्यक्ति को चप्पल से पीट रहा है। मध्य प्रदेश में भारतीय जनता पार्टी, आदिवासी अत्याचार पार्टी बनती जा रही है।

आखिर आप… pic.twitter.com/tb9PENDuNr

— Kamal Nath (@OfficeOfKNath) September 20, 2023

Citing cases like the Sidhi urination incident, Nath said that the state has become number one in tribal atrocities.

BJP workers have been given the licence to commit atrocities against tribals, he alleged.

In the purported video of the assault in Anuppur district, a man is seen lying on the roadside while two persons, including one with slippers, are beating him.