A tragic incident has shocked the nation when a young man, Kanhaiyalal from Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh was publicly dragged behind a truck and died.
Eight named accused have been made in the incident and of these, four have been arrested by the police, including the main accused who attacked him due to an alleged theft suspicion. Neemuch SP Suraj Kumar Verma said that eight people have been named as accused, in which the main accused, Chhitarmal Gurjar and Mahendra Gurjar have been arrested. The driver and operator of the pickup vehicle have also been taken into custody. Their investigation is going on and the rest of the accused will also be arrested soon.
The incident was reported in the Singoli police station area of Neemuch district. The accused first hit the Kanhaiyalal with a bike.
Kanhaiyalal, belonging to the Bhil tribe, was beaten up, tied to a pick-up truck, and dragged for some distance by local villagers within the limits of the Singoli police station area. The police reached the spot and admitted the injured tribal man to Neemuch hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. “We have identified eight persons behind the assault and four including the mastermind has been detailed. Rest will be arrested soon,” a senior police officer told the media.
After dragging him, nearly dead, he was taken to the hospital and died while undergoing treatment. The incident occurred on August 26, the video of which has also started circulating.
#Horrific In Singoli police station area of Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh, A tribal youth was thrashed by a mob thinking it to be a thief, then tied to a truck and dragged for several kilometers, death.#TribalLivesMatterpic.twitter.com/y7dUp0j41p
— The Dalit Voice (@ambedkariteIND) August 28, 2021
A video of the incident went viral on social media, causing public rage.
Local reports suggested Kanhaiyalal was passing through village Kalan where his bike collided with a man belonging to the local Gurjar community. Anguished, some men from the community caught hold of him, beat him up, and later tied him to a vehicle and dragged him.
The attackers themselves shot the video of the barbaric incident and informed the police of catching hold of the “thief”. The man who was driving the pick-up vehicle which dragged the victim was also arrested.
Madhya Pradesh has been the bedrock of mob frenzies, rapes, an unsafe society for women, and communal intolerances for a long time, seated in the heart of India, and the state is leading to a law and order crisis.
The former chief minister and state Congress chief Kamal Nath condemned the incident on Twitter. “What is this happening in Madhya Pradesh? Now a very inhuman incident of vandalism has come to light with a tribal person named Kanhaiyalal Bhil in Singoli of Neemuch district? After thrashing the deceased badly on suspicion of theft, he was tied to a vehicle and dragged mercilessly, leading to his death?” Nath said in a tweet sharing the video.
ये मध्यप्रदेश में हो क्या रहा है…?
अब नीमच ज़िले के सिंगोली में कन्हैयालाल भील नाम के एक आदिवासी व्यक्ति के साथ बर्बरता की बेहद अमानवीय घटना सामने आयी है ?
मृतक को चोरी की शंका पर बुरी तरह से पीटने के बाद उसे एक वाहन से बांधकर निर्दयता से घसीटा गया, जिससे उसकी मौत हो गयी ? pic.twitter.com/96r1zUQBDs
— Kamal Nath (@OfficeOfKNath) August 28, 2021