Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 5: Authorities in Sidhi on Wednesday demolished under the orders of the Madhya Pradesh government a part of the residence of Pravesh Shukla who was arrested on Tuesday night and National Security Act invoked against him for allegedly urinating on a tribal man in Kubri village.
The accused was arrested after a video went viral on Tuesday where he was seen urinating on a man. As the authorities arrived at the accused’s house with a bulldozer, his family members disputed the video over which he was arrested.
While the father of 30-year old Pravesh Shukla, a BJP Yuva Morcha Mandal vice-president, claimed that the video was “fake” and that “my son cannot do such a thing,” his sister said the video was an “old one,” which has been brought to the forefront as the elections are close. She, however, did not dispute the content of the video. It was later revealed that the incident had occurred some three months ago but the video suddenly became viral on Tuesday.
After the video came to light, the Congress pointed to Pravesh’s association with BJP’s Siddhi MLA Kedarnath Shukla, while Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called for stern action against him. Shukla was arrested after multiple police teams combed through Siddhi district. Following his arrest, District Magistrate Saket Malviya invoked the NSA against Shukla who is currently lodged in the Rewa central jail.
Earlier, his father had said, “There is no way my son could have done this. This is a conspiracy to frame him. We were also very distressed after we saw the video.” Reacting to the viral video, had state Home Minister Narottam Mishra condemned the incident saying Chief Minister had ordered immediate action against the accused. “Strict action will be taken against the accused,” Mishra said.
As soon as the video went viral on social media, Chouhan took cognizance of the matter and ordered strict action against the accused. He also asked the accused to be booked under the NSA. “A viral video of Sidhi district has come to my notice. I have instructed the administration to arrest the accused and take strict action against him and also impose NSA,” CM Chouhan tweeted on his official handle. According to the police, following the CM’s instruction, a case was registered against the accused at Bahari police station under IPC sections 294, 504, sections 3(1) (r)(s) of SC/ST Act and the NSA.
Following the NSA, bulldozers arrived at Shukla’s home even as his family members protested. They pleaded with the administration claiming that the house belonged to Shukla’s father and other members of the family. They also asked the administration to take action against the accused but not target his family and their property. District officials reported that illegal encroachments “built in 400 square feet had been demolished.”
The Congress meanwhile kept pressing the BJP over the issue. Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee president Kamal Nath warned Chouhan not to “give protection to people” committing atrocities on tribals. “My soul trembled after seeing the video of a BJP leader urinating on a tribal youth in Sidhi district. This incident is an attack on tribals. I warn the Shivraj govt to stop giving protection to people doing atrocities on the tribal society. The Congress party stands with the tribals and will continue to provide justice to them,” Nath said.
Sidhi BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla, however, denied any association with Pravesh Shukla as claimed by the Congress. While the Congress has alleged Shukla is an associate of the Siddhi MLA, the latter claimed that Pravesh was “not my representative or even a BJP member.” “He was never a part of the BJP. These are false allegations,” the MLA said. A former minister, however, tweeted a purported BJP appointment letter and a paper clipping congratulating Shukla for becoming the MLA’s representative. “He (Shukla) is the mandal vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, MLA Kedarnath Shukla has made him his representative as well,” the former minister tweeted.
