MP urination case: CM Chouhan apologises to victim, washes his feet

Madhya Pradesh chief miner Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday invited tribal labour Dashmat Rawat, the victim of the urination incident, to his residence in Bhopal where he washed his feet and also apologised to him. MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan washed feet of urination victim (Twitter/@ChouhanShivraj) The CM also assured that strict punishment will be given to the accused. “Saddened this incident. I apologise to you. People like you are like God to me. Accused Pravesh Shukla will be punished in a way that becomes an example for others. If needed, we will bury the criminals in the ground,” Chouhan said. CM Chouhan shared a video on Twitter in which he can be seen washing the feet of the tribal man. “I am sharing this video with you so that everyone should understand that the public is God when Shivraj Singh Chouhan is in (power) Madhya Pradesh,” he wrote on Twitter. “Atrocities with anyone will not be tolerated. The respect of every citizen of the state is my respect,” he further wrote. Reacting to the chief miner’s response, Rawat said that he was overwhelmed. “I never hoped that I will ever get justice. I am happy that the CM called me and punished the accused,” Rawat said. Meanwhile, the state adminration on Wednesday in a crackdown against the urination case bulldozed the properties belonging to accused Pravesh Shukla. Pravesh, who was caught on camera urinating on a tribal man in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested late on Tuesday night after CM Chouhan ordered to invoke the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against him following an online outrage. Pravesh’s father Ramakant Shukla has reportedly claimed that his son is the representative of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kedarnath Shukla and that he is being targeted the opposition because he is a representative of the BJP MLA. Ramakant’s statement comes amid a political slugfest in the poll-bound state with Opposition Congress alleging that the accused is an associate of Kedarnath Shukla — a charge the ruling party has denied. Reacting to the video of the urination incident, Ramakant said, “My son was blackmailed. They were asking for money but when he refused, they posted the video on social media. They should also be made accused in the matter.” Meanwhile, Sidhi additional superintendent of police Anjulata Patle said that they have detained two men who shot the video. “Police are interrogating them and a case will be regered against them,” said Patle. The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress are not leaving any stone unturned to woo the Kol tribal in the Vindhya region in view of the forthcoming election in Madhya Pradesh. The Kol community has influence over 15 seats in the Vindhya region out of 30 seats. BJP which won 24 seats in the 2018 elections is trying to maintain its performance in the 2023 election and Congress, which saw a massive dip in the performance and finished with six seats only in 2018, is trying to gain in the region. On Thursday, Congress leaders from the Vindhya region, former MLA Ajay Singh and MLA Kamleshwar Patel, sat on dharna in front of the house of the accused demanding strict action. A large number of tribal women also staged a protest with slippers in their hands on Wednesday night. ABOUT THE AUTHOR She is a senior reporter based at Bhopal. She covers higher education, social issues, youth affairs, woman and child development related issues, sports and business & industries. …view detail