Two tribal youth in MP beaten up in separate incidents; 7 held

Betul: Two tribal men have been allegedly beaten up in separate incidents in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district following which the police have so far arrested seven persons, officials said on Wednesday.

In one of the incidents which took place on November 15 last year, the victim, resident of Baspani area, was brought to Betul city by one of the accused, who was known to him, under some pretext following a dispute over the victim borrowing money from him.

He was allegedly hung upside down in a room and beaten up with a belt, slippers and sticks, police said.

The victim told reporters on Tuesday that he was afraid of the culprits due to their 'criminal background' and hence did not report the matter earlier.

After a video of the incident went viral on social media, the victim's family members took him to the Kotwali police station on Tuesday to file a complaint.

An FIR was subsequently registered against three identified persons and as many others, a police official said.

Betul Superintendent of Police Siddharth Choudhary said five-six persons were involved in the incident.

One of the accused has been arrested and search is on for the others, he said.

Condemning the incident, MP Congress president Jitu Patwari demanded Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's resignation and that he hand over the home portfolio, currently held by the CM, to someone who can decisively control crime in MP.

In another incident, a tribal youth was allegedly beaten up by a group of persons here on February 7 over an old enmity, police said in a release.

A video of the incident went viral on Sunday and the police arrested two of the accused, identified as Chanchal Rajput and Chandan Sardar, on Monday, the release said.

Later, four more accused - Gullu Chitrar, Ankit Chitrar, Nandi Jharbade and Naved Khan were also arrested, it added.