MP: Elderly man, assaulted on suspicion of being Muslim, dies

An elderly man, said to be mentally ill was assaulted in Manasa of Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh allegedly on the suspicion of being a Muslim, resulting in his death.

The body of Bhanwarlal Jain, 65, a resident of Sarsi in neighbouring Ratlam district, was found close to the Manasa police station on Thursday night.

Manasa police have registered a case of murder (sections 302/304 of IPC) against Dinesh Kushwaha, who is husband of a former BJP corporator of Manasa and also reportedly a former office bearer of local units of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and BJP. Following this, Kushwaha surrendered at the station on Saturday afternoon.

Deceased Jain is the eldest son of Pistabai Chatar (86), oldest sarpanch of Ratlam district and his brother Rajesh is also said to be a BJP leader.

The murder case was registered only after the family members of the deceased and Jain community members created a lot of pressure on the cops at the Manasa police station on Friday night on the basis of a viral video of the incident of assault. Kushwaha and his accomplice who shot the video are still absconding.

The viral video shows Kushwaha slapping the elderly man constantly while asking the latter to show his Aadhaar card. The video was reportedly uploaded on social media by Kushwaha himself. In the video, Kushwaha is seen asking the name of the elderly man and when the latter utters something, Kushwaha asks him whether he said his name was ‘Mohammad’. Kushwaha then repeats the question and slaps the elderly man constantly while asking him to show his Aadhaar card.

Jain had gone missing on May 16 from Bheruji in Chittorgarh of Rajasthan where the family had gone for devotional purposes.

Congress attacked the state government and the BJP over the incident. Several leaders raised questions over the silence of the party and the government over involvement of BJP leader and cadre in violent incidents, especially those of excesses on dalits, tribals and minority community members.

MP Congress chief Kamal Nath tweeted: “What is happening in Madhya Pradesh. Tribals were beaten to death in Seoni, (major crime) incidents happened in Guna, Mahu and Mandla and now elderly man named Bhanwarlal Jain has been beaten to death in Neemuch district. As in Seoni, here too, the accused are linked to the BJP. Where is the law and order in the state? Till when would people be killed like this? Why are criminals so high in confidence? Government is only focusing on events.”

Rajya Sabha member Digivijaya Singh retweeted a video of the incident saying “I have information that a case under section 302 has been registered against Dinesh Kushwaha of BJP. Let’s see whether he is arrested or not.”

Home minister Narottam Mishra confirmed that case under section 302/304 of IPC had been registered against Dinesh Kushwaha, highlighting that Jain had got lost and couldn’t give his identity properly as he was mentally disabled. The home minister added that the family members of the deceased were satisfied with the action.