BHOPAL: Three days after the incident of a tribal youth being punched and kicked by a Bajrang Dal leader was reported in Betul district, an even more shocking incident of another tribal man Ashish Parte being stripped and brutally assaulted while being hung upside down has been reported from the same area.
Though the incident with the tribal tea-seller happened in November 2023, it has been reported to the local police, after its video went viral on Tuesday night.
The victim in the November 2023 incident, Ashish Parte, said the attackers (two accused) stripped before tying him up to be hung upside down and then beat him with sticks and belts, to demand ‘cut money’ for running the tea-shop. The shop is run by Ashish with father.
Parate said that one of the attackers who held a gun told the other attacker about having committed a murder in the past. Due to it, Parate didn’t tell anyone about it.
It was when the video went viral on Tuesday that he finally admitted it to his elder brother, after which the matter was reported to the local police. A case has been lodged under IPC and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act sections.
Earlier on Monday, the Betul district police had lodged a case against a Bajrang Dal leader Chanchal Rajput and aides for assaulting a tribal youth Raju Uike on camera. A viral video of the shocking incident showed Raju being punched and kicked on various parts of the body and being forced to sit like a rooster, for working with a DJ player Gullu, who had recently assaulted the Bajrang Dal leader.
State Congress chief Jitu Patwari said this suggests that tribals are being intentionally targeted in the state.