Homes Of Men Who Assaulted & Murdered Tribal Man In Neemuch Demolished By Madhya Pradesh Police

Mahendra Gurjar, husband of village sarpanch, was among the people whose properties were demolished. Visuals show an earthmover is bringing down a single-storey house.

New Delhi: The district administration of Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh razed the illegal properties of the men accused of brutally assaulting and murdering a tribal man, Kanhaiyalal Bheel, on suspicion of theft.

The 45-year-old man was first beaten up and then the accused tied him to the end of a pick-up truck by his feet. He was then dragged for a distance, videos of which appeared on social media and went viral. The man died later.  

The illegal homes of Chhitar Mal Gurjar, Mahendra Gurjar and two others have been demolished, and the dossiers of all the accused were being prepared to ensure they get the strictest punishment, Superintendent of Police Suraj Kumar Verma said on Saturday, according to a PTI report.

Mahendra Gurjar, husband of the village sarpanch, was among the people whose properties were demolished. Visuals of an earthmover show a single-storey house being torn down. 

Last week, a video surfaced on social media, which showed a man hitting the tribal man on the face even as he pleads to let him go. 

The men who assaulted Bheel later called the police and claimed to have caught a thief. When the police reached the spot, they saw Bheel and rushed him to a nearby community health centre. He was then referred to a district hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. 

However, according to a PTI report, it was a minor road accident involving the victim and a milkman, who was riding a motorcycle, resulted in the incident. 

"Chhitar Mal Gurjar, a milkman, was riding a motorcycle which knocked down the victim, Kanhaiyalal Bheel of Banda village, when he was standing on the Neemuch-Singoli road, some 84 km from the Neemuch district headquarter," Superintendent of Police Suraj Kumar Verma told reporters.

He said Gurjar lost his cool after the milk spilt on the road due to the accident and beat up Bheel.

Gurjar then called his friends who came and roughed up Bheel and then tied him to the back of a vehicle passing by. Bheel was dragged for some distance, Verma said.

All eight accused were charged with Section 302 (murder) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act, SP Verma told reporters.

"After a video of the incident became viral, the police swung into action but by then, the accused had fled. The victim was rushed to the district hospital where he died on Friday," the SP said.

The five persons, identified as Chhitarmal Gurjar (32), Mahendra Gurjar and Gopal Gurjar (both 40), Lokesh Balai (21), and Laxman Gurjar, have been arrested and efforts are on to trace others, the SP added. He said the motorcycle and two four-wheelers — including a pick-up vehicle, and a nylon rope believed to be used in the crime — had been seized. 

Watch the video here: 

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath tweeted that the incident was very "inhuman", which he said is the testimony to "lawlessness" prevailing in Madhya Pradesh. Nath demanded that the state government take necessary actions immediately to check such incidents. He demanded strict action against the accused.