Madhya Pradesh urination case accused Pravesh Shukla’s properties bulldozed

In a major crackdown on Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi urination case accused Pravesh Shukla, the state administration on Wednesday bulldozed his illegal encroachment in the district.

A video of Pravesh Shukla, who reportedly has links to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), allegedly abusing a tribal man sitting in the Kubari market of Sidhi district, and later urinating on him in an inebriated state has gone viral, sparking online outrage.

The accused was arrested on Wednesday after chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took cognizance of the incident and ordered Shukla’s arrest under the stringent National Security Act (NSA). “We will not spare him at any cost,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati demanded the demolition of the properties of Shukla.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, the BSP chief said, “The incident of a local leader urinating on an Adivasi/Dalit youth in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh is shameful, inhuman and condemnable. The government waking up only after the video went viral proves their involvement, that too is very sad.”

“The BJP government of Madhya Pradesh should take action against the criminal not only by invoking NSA but also by confiscating or demolishing properties owned by him. It also should not shield the accused,” she added.

While speaking to news agency ANI, the wife of the victim says, “He is my husband. If something wrong has been done, what has to happen will happen. There should be punishment if something wrong was done.” She also denied the claims of being pressured or harassed by someone.

Sidhi Superintendent of Police (SP) Ravindra Verma reacted to the incident and said, “An FIR has been registered against him (Shukla) under section 294 (using obscene language), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and under relevant sections of the SC/ST Act.”

The incident also triggered a war of words in the poll-bound state with Congress alleging that the culprit is an associate of BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla — a charge that BJP has denied. The MP BJP has also constituted a four-member committee to conduct a probe into the incident, state party chief V D Sharma said.