Madhya Pradesh urinating incident: Congress calls for CBI probe

Police on Wednesday arrested BJP's Shukla after the video surfaced on social media

The Congress on Wednesday demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident wherein a man urinated on a tribal youth in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district, triggering outrage.

The Congress also demanded that the property of the accused be demolished like the similar action taken by the state government in other cases.

Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, former Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kantilal Bhuria claimed the video was a few months old.

He alleged the accused BJP leader, Pravesh Shukla, made the victim submit an affidavit stating that no case should be registered against him.

Police on Wednesday arrested Shukla after the video surfaced on social media. An official on Tuesday said the action was being initiated against the accused under the stringent National Security Act.

"The incident that occurred in Sidhi is an insult to the tribal community. The state government should hand over the investigation to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and the case should be heard in the court of law in non-BJP states," Bhuria said.

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He demanded that the victim's family be given compensation of Rs 2 crore and the government job to two members of his family.

"This video is said to be some months old. But the victim was so scared of the accused BJP leader Pravesh Shukla that even after months, he could not muster the courage to complain to the police. Besides, the accused got an affidavit from the victim stating that no case should be registered against him," Bhuria alleged.

Without taking names, he said a BJP MLA and his representative are working like local goons.

Bhuria also claimed that the accused has links with top BJP leaders and his photos with senior leaders of the ruling party are surfaced.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had denied the allegation of the Congress that the accused was linked to the saffron party.

An official from the Chief Minister's Office had said a case was registered against the accused at Bahari police station under Indian Penal Code sections 294 (obscene acts), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Action against the stringent National Security Act was also initiated, he had said.

On Tuesday, when asked whether the accused is an MLA's representative, MP BJP president Vishnu Dutt Sharma said such persons are not of any party.

When specifically asked whether he was removed from the party, Sharma said, “Bilkul (absolutely).

Some social media posts claimed that the accused Pravesh Shukla was a representative of BJP MLA from Sidhi Kedarnath Shukla.

But when contacted, the MLA had denied the allegation.

"I do not know if the victim is a tribal or not, but strict action should be taken against the accused. The accused is not my representative," Kedarnath Shukla told PTI on Tuesday.