A 24-year-old man was allegedly beaten up 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 has been registered against four people under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and a police sub-inspector was suspended for dereliction of duty, said an official.
According to the police, the incident took place on August 2 near the Narmada Food Processing Factory, when the manager of a food processing unit and three others caught hold of Aditya Rokade and beat him up.
A case was registered on Saturday night after a video of the incident went viral.
Rokade’s mother Bhagwati Rokde, however, alleged that her son was stripped to check his religious identity.
“My son told me that they were saying to set him on fire. They beat him up with canes. They continued to beat my son in front of the police. Later, police took him to the hospital,” she said.
Khargone superintendent of police Dharamveer Singh Yadav dismissed the allegations, saying the matter has nothing to do with any religious enmity.
{{/usCountry}}Khargone superintendent of police Dharamveer Singh Yadav dismissed the allegations, saying the matter has nothing to do with any religious enmity.
{{/usCountry}}“Her claim is false and seems concocted,” the SP said.