MP: Man Dies After Being Beaten Over Suspicion of Being Muslim, Accused Arrested

Police said they are also looking at CCTV footage of the area and technical links to investigate the matter.

In Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch, Bhanwarlal Jain was allegedly beaten to death over suspicions of being a Mohammed (Muslim). The accused, identified as Dinesh Kushwah, is a BJP worker and has been arrested by the Neemuch police.  

Photo: The Quint

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Video Editor: Prashant Chauhan

The Madhya Pradesh Police in Neemuch arrested Dinesh Kushwah on Saturday, 21 May, in connection with the incident in which a man with disabilities, identified as 65-year-old Bhanwarlal Jain, was allegedly beaten up over suspicion of being a Muslim.

Bhanwarlal Jain later succumbed to his injuries.

The incident came to light after a video surfaced, where a man could be seen asking Jain, "Tera naam Mohammed hai?... Aadhaar card dikha" (Is your name Mohammed? Show me your Aadhaar card).

The accused Kushwah had earlier absconded after police had called him for inquiry on Friday regarding the viral video.

The incident is said to have occurred within limits of the Manasa police station in Neemuch.

Following the incident, Neemuch district police had registered a murder case on the complaint of Bhanwarlal's brother Rajesh, who identified the accused as Dinesh Kushwah.

"We have arrested the accused Dinesh Kushwah today. We are processing his arrest. He tried to flee when the police called him for inquiry after we received the video showing a man being beaten up. A case under section 304 (Causing death by negligence) and section 302, (Punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal code has been registered and we are probing the matter.

Suraj Kumar Varma, SP, Neemuch.

Accused Has Links With BJP

The accused Dinesh Kushwah is said to have links with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. Kushwah is said to be the husband of a local BJP leader.

Talking to The Quint, BJP's Neemuch district president Pawan Patidar said:

"Dinesh Kushwah was not an office bearer of the party. He was a normal party worker. I do not have much information about the incident as of now. We are trying to gather more details."

Police on the Incident

Neemuch Superintendent of Police, Suraj Kumar Varma told The Quint, "Accused Dinesh Kushwah, who is seen in the video thrashing a disabled man in Neemuch has been arrested. Involvement of more people might come to light post interrogation."

Bhanwarlal's brother Rajesh Jain, in his written complaint, claimed that his brother died due to the assault by Dinesh Kushwah.

"A video came on my mobile phone, in which a person is seen beating my brother Bhanwarlal. When I enquired about the video I got to know that the person seen beating my brother is Dinesh Kushwah. My brother died because of the thrashings by Dinesh Kushwah," the FIR, registered on the complaint of Rajesh, read.

Speaking to the media, Manasa police station in-charge KL Dangi had earlier said, “We recovered a body on Rampura road. Since there was no identification, it was kept in the freezer and his photo was circulated for identification. After multiple efforts, the deceased was identified as one Bhanwarlal Jain.”

After the police circulated a photo of the deceased man, he was identified by his brother Rakesh Jain, who was handed over the body for final rites after the post-mortem.

“Today Bhanwarlal Jain’s brother, Rakesh Jain, received a video on his mobile in which he saw a man thrashing his brother. After inquiring at his level, he came to Manasa. He got to know that his brother was thrashed by Dinesh Kushwah, resident of Manasa."

Manasa police station in-charge K L Dangi

(With inputs from Salman Qureshi.)