A government official allegedly ordered and oversaw the assault of two young men in Madhya Pradesh’s Umaria – for the ‘crime’ of overtaking his vehicle. The police have filed a case against four people, including Amit Singh, the Bandhavgarh SDM, or sub-divisional magistrate, who has been suspended.
A nine-second video of the incident – in which two vehicles, a Mahindra Scorpio with SDM sticker on the rear window is seen parked behind a Maruti Suzuki XL6 – has been widely circulate online. The video shows a man being hit on his leg, at least twice, by another, with three others looking on.
SDM, तहसीलदार दो अन्य के खिलाफ एफआईआर हो गई है https://t.co/QTgYhsDxSU
— Anurag Dwary (@Anurag_Dwary) January 23, 2024
The two men in the XL6 have been identified as Prakash Dahiya and Shivam Yadav. A second video shows Dahiya with a bloody bandage wrapped around his head. “Four to five people sitting in the vehicle, with SDM written on it, got down and thrashed me and my friend because we overtook their car.”
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav condemned the “inhuman” episode.
“There is a good government in Madhya Pradesh. This kind of inhuman treatment of common people will not be tolerated at all in the state,” the newly-installed Mr Yadav posted on X.
बांधवगढ़ एसडीएम द्वारा दो युवकों से मारपीट की घटना दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण हैं। एसडीएम को निलंबित करने के निर्देश दिए हैं।
मध्यप्रदेश में सुशासन की सरकार है। प्रदेश में आमजन से इस तरह का अमानवीय व्यवहार बिल्कुल बर्दाश्त नहीं किया जाएगा : CM@DrMohanYadav51
— Chief Minister, MP (@CMMadhyaPradesh) January 23, 2024
Singh has denied the charges; he said he was only trying to help the two men being attacked.
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