A 65-year-old mentally ill man was assaulted over suspicion of being Muslim. He was later found dead. The incident of a man thrashing the senior citizen and asking for his Aadhar card was caught on camera.
The victim was later identified as Bhanwarlal Jain who went missing on May 15 after a visit to a religious event in Rajasthan. In the video, the attacker repeatedly asked a visibly confused elderly man if his name was Mohammed. After his family filed a missing complaint, police put out an alert. His body was found on a roadside in Neemuch district yesterday.
After the video surfaced, the family approached the police. The case has been registered in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh. The attacker was identified as Dinesh Kushwaha, the husband of a former BJP corporator. He is named as the main accused.
The video shows the elderly man sitting on a bench and the attacker towering over him. Dinesh is seen slapping the 65-year-old several times. He appears to be confused about the behaviour and the situation he is in. Jain is seen lifting his shirt and offering money from a hidden pocket. The attacker continues to slap him hard for not answering the question regarding his religion.
Police officer KL Dangi told NDTV that the video was probably shot on Thursday. Home Minister Narottam Mishra said a case has been filed for murder and death by negligence. State BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal described the incident as "unfortunate" and said neither the victim nor the attacker had anything to do with party politics. He added that those who were involved in the murder will not be spared by the state government.
Congress MLA Jitu Patwari accused the BJP of causing the hate crime by "lighting the furnace of hate". Senior party leader Digvijaya Singh said it remains to be seen if action will be taken against the BJP follower.