Khargone (PTI), Aug 7 (PTI) A 24-year-old man was thrashed and forced to remove his clothes in full public view on suspicion of theft in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone district, police said on Sunday.
A case was registered against four persons, including the manager of a food processing factory, under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and a police sub-inspector was suspended for dereliction of duty.
Nobody is arrested so far, a police officer said.
The incident occurred on August 3 near the Narmada Food Processing Factory when the manager and three others caught hold of Aditya Rokade and beat him up, police said, adding a case was registered on Saturday night after a video of the incident went viral on social media.
The victim was arrested on the complaint of theft on Wednesday and produced in a court, which remanded him to judicial custody. He is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital.
Khargone superintendent of police Dharamveer Singh Yadav dismissed the allegations of the victim’s mother, Bhagwati Bai, that her son was beaten up as the accused persons suspected he was a Muslim.
“Her claim is false and seems concocted”, the SP said.
After a video of the beating of Adiyta Rokade, who plays the drums to eke out a living, became viral, the police on Saturday night registered a case against Narmada Food Processing Factory manager Ram Niwas Choudhary and three others under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the India Penal Code, the SP said.
Rokade’s brother is the complainant in the case.
The SP said the accused persons and Rokade knew each other very well.
Yadav said Khaltaka police outpost in-charge sub-inspector Rajendra Baghel was suspended on Sunday for dereliction of duty and a Sub-Divisional Officer has been asked to probe the incident.
He said when Rokade was brought to the Khaltaka police outpost in an injured condition, Baghel did not take any action against the accused men but booked the victim.
Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Jitendra Singh Pawar said Rokade was seen moving around the factory premises on August 3.
The factory manager and three others caught him and thrashed him. The manager lodged a complaint of theft against Rokade, following which he was arrested, he said.
The victim is undergoing treatment and his condition is stable, the ASP said, adding that efforts are on to arrest the accused. PTI COR LAL NSK NSK
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