The Madhya Pradesh police investigating the Sidhi urination case said that the video which emerged on 4th July 2023 showing a man engaging in an appalling act of urinating on a poor tribal individual was a one-year-old video, reported Hindi news daily Dainik Bhaskar.
Meanwhile, the report by Dainik Bhaskar quoted Sidhi Additional ASP Anjulata Patle as saying that the purported video is an old video recently made viral by some people. Patle added that those responsible for making the old video viral on multiple social media sites are being questioned about their motives.
The report by Dainik Bhaskar also quoted Vidyakant Shukla, the uncle of the accused Pravesh Shukla, who said that the video that went viral on July 4 was actually three years old. Additionally, Vidyakant Shukla revealed that the video was being used to blackmail Pravesh. Adarsh Shukla and Deendayal Sahu, two villagers from the Kubri hamlet, were allegedly demanding money by threatening to make this video public, he continued. He continued by saying that Pravesh’s rivals were going after him for political reasons as the January elections drew near.
Pravesh was so frustrated, according to Vidyakant Shukla, that on June 29, he emerged from his home and declared that he was going to kill himself. The same evening that he disappeared. In a missing person report, his family members claimed that Adarsh Shukla, Deendayal Sahu, Mrityunjay Gautam, and Praveen Kumar Shukla, aka Pintu, had used the video to blackmail Pravesh. The uncle claimed that even though they had filed a complaint, the police had not taken any significant steps in the matter; instead, they had just visited the hamlet, collected statements from select members of Pravesh’s family, and left. He bemoaned that on July 4, they noticed that the video had begun spreading across multiple social media platforms.
Notably, the news agency ANI has also quoted Pravesh Shukla’s sister as saying, “It’s an old video being circulated for political and electoral reasons.”
While talking to news agency ANI, Shukla’s father said, “There is no way my son could have done this. This is a conspiracy to frame him. We were also very distressed after we saw the video.”
We believe that God resides in every human being: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chouhan washes feet of victim
While the Madhya Pradesh authorities have been acting swiftly after the state government assured that the accused would receive exemplary punishment in the case to set a deterrence, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan reportedly met Dashrath Rawat, the poor tribal victim and washed his feet at the Chief Minister’s residence in Bhopal on Thursday (July 6). This came a day after the accused from Sidhi, Pravesh Shukla’s house was razed by authorities on Chouhan’s orders.
#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan meets Dashmat Rawat and washes his feet at CM House in Bhopal. In a viral video from Sidhi, accused Pravesh Shukla was seen urinating on Rawat.
— ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2023
CM tells him, "…I was pained to see that video. I apologise to you.… pic.twitter.com/5il2c3QATP
After that, Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited Smart City Park in Bhopal along with victim Dashmat Rawat and planted saplings.
#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visits Smart City Park in Bhopal along with victim Dashmat Rawat and plants saplings.
— ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2023
In a viral video from Sidhi, accused Pravesh Shukla was seen urinating on Rawat. Shukla was arrested on 5th July and his illegal… pic.twitter.com/ccna4NXdCa
“For me, the poor is God and people are like God to me. Serving the people is equal to worshipping God. We believe that God resides in every human being. I was pained by the inhuman incident that happened with Dashmat Rawat…Respect and security are important for the poor…,” The Madhya Pradesh CM told the media, condemning the incident.
Sidhi urination case accused Pravesh Shukla’s illegal encroachment demolished, was arrested under NSA Act
It may be noted that the administration had acted swiftly after the state government assured that the accused would receive exemplary punishment in the case to set a deterrence. Besides arresting the accused under the stringent NSA Act, the Shivraj Chouhan government had also bulldozed his illegally constructed structure on encroached land in the Kubri region.
BJP denies that Sidhi urination case accused had links with the party, and forms a committee
On social media, the accused Pravesh is being claimed as a close supporter of local MLA Kedarnath Shukla, but the MLA himself has denied this.
Kedarnath Shukla said, “He (the culprit in the video) is neither my representative nor an associate. He is not connected to BJP in any way. I am demanding strict action against the culprit. When we visit our constituency, so many people click photos with us. But he is not attached to us in any way. He has shamed humanity and strict action should be taken against him.”
