A video of a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh urinating on a tribal man Dasmat Rawat went viral on 3rd July 2023 causing widespread outrage on social media.
A few days later photo-ops show Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan washing Rawat’s feet.
Meanwhile, the BJP leader Pravesh Shukla was arrest and the National Security Act (NSA) was invoke against him.
As a consequence, his house was demolish.
The video that went viral was from 2020.
In the video, the 36-year-old man is seen being urinate upon by Pravesh Shukla.
Dasmat Rawat is a labourer who is popularly known in the village as ‘Palle’ because of his work.
He offloads cement bags from trucks and puts them in local stores.
Days after the video went viral, multiple people on social media claim that Dasmat Rawat was not the real victim.
The claims said that government officials stage the incident because they couldn’t find the actual victim.
Misinformation about the identity of the victim start spreading widely after a video clip of Dasmat Rawat’s interview went viral on 6th July 2023.
In the clip, Dasmat Rawat claim that he was not the person seen in the video.
सीधी पेशाब कांड में बड़ा खुलासा,
— MP Congress (@INCMP) July 9, 2023
— शिवराज ने किसी और के पांव धोने की नौटंकी की, असली पीड़ित लापता हैं क्या ?
शिवराज जी,
इतना बड़ा षड्यन्त्र ❓
मध्यप्रदेश आपको माफ नहीं करेगा। pic.twitter.com/JCvXlUJr7w
The Superintendent of Police (SP) in Sidhi confirm it by saying :
“Certain news channels are spreading misleading information claiming that the person seen in the video is not Dasmat Rawat. However, the police investigation has confirmed that the individual in the video is indeed Dasmat Rawat. Therefore, the police directly refutes all such misleading news.”
The village where Dasmat Rawat lives his family members, neighbours and government officials to confirm whether he was the same man seen in the video.
Dasmat Rawat had claim not to be the real victim in front of the District Magistrate, he said,
Dasmat Rawat Said :
“This was the first time I had ever been taken to a police station. The police officers came to my house and took me there without informing me or my wife about anything. I was in a state of shock, which is why I made that statement.”
Asha Rawat, Dasmat Rawat’s wife said :
“When I saw the video, I immediately recognised that it was my husband. I recognised his clothes. How could I not recognise him?”
“The respect and honor of the entire Adivasi community have been compromised, and no amount of money can compensate for that loss,”.
The sarpanch of Karundi Village Ganga Prasad Sahu too recognise him from the video.
Ganga Prasad Sahu said :
“Dasmat had the exact same messy hairstyle and clothes that can be seen in the video. The person shown in the video is Dasmat,”.
Dasmat Rawat’s Uncle, Hublal Rawat, said that during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Dasmat Rawat use to visit Kubri market in the evenings. Dasmat Rawat used to hang out with Pravesh and his friends.
Hublal Rawat said :
“I recognize the shoes he is wearing in the viral video. I distinctly remember those shoes,”.
Chotelal Dwivedi, a former employer of Dasmat Rawat, receive the viral video in a WhatsApp group.
Chotelal Dwivedi said :
“He use to work in my shop. With just one look, I immediately recognised that the person in the video was Dasmat.”
This incident happen on 20th June, 2020, two years before the video went viral.
Shopkeeper present at the location where the incident took place said :
“During the lockdown, Dasmat would come to Deendayal’s shop every day and sit with Pravesh and his friends until late hours,”.
Deendayal is a childhood friend of Dasmat Rawat’s.
Even after the incident, he continue to visit the shop, the shopkeeper said.
The shopkeeper also mention that he had Dasmat Rawat and Pravesh Shukla drinking alcohol together at the location on many occasions.
As per Ramesh Singh, a close friend of Pravesh Shukla, the incident happen on 20th June, 2020.
It all start when some utensils from a nearby shop, where Dasmat Rawat and Pravesh Shukla use to spend time together, were stolen.
The shopkeeper suspect Dasmat Rawat of the theft and report it to Pravesh Shukla.
In response, Pravesh Shukla question Dasmat Rawat about the incident.
So, when Dasmat Rawat remain silent, Pravesh Shukla became angry and proceeded to urinate on him.
While Pravesh Shukla was urinating, his childhood friend Deendayal Sahu recorded the incident.
Deendayal Sahu said he too has assaulted by Pravesh Shukla multiple times.
Deendayal Sahu said :
“Despite being my friend, Pravesh Shukla has assaulted me. He had borrowed some money from me, and when I asked him to return it, he threatened to physically harm me.”
“I was angry at him, which is why I decided to record that video and store it on my computer,”.
Six months ago, Deendayal Sahu share this incident with Adarsh Shukla, who is both Pravesh Shukla’s cousin and a political rival.
Adarsh Shukla believe that Pravesh Shukla’s support for a Thakur candidate in the previous elections, despite being a Brahmin himself, had led to the defeat of Adarsh Shukla’s chosen candidate for sarpanch.
Then, Adarsh Shukla, angered by Pravesh Shukla’s actions, encourage Deendayal Sahu to share the video with him.
Adarsh Shukla said :
“Out of curiosity, I asked Deendayal for the video. I shared it in a local group, but then I promptly deleted it. To my surprise, within a few minutes, the video went viral across the entire village. My intention was never to defame Pravesh. I never anticipated that this video would create such a widespread stir.”
After Pravesh Shukla’s house was bulldoze, the Akhil Bharitiya Brahman Samaj donate 51,000 rupees to Pravesh Shukla’s parents.
The National President of Brahmin Mahasabha, Kuldeep Bhardwaj, protest on 10th July 2023, against the demolition of the house belonging to the accuse.
On 13th July 2023, the Adivasi community too organise a protest march, demanding that action be taken against local BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla, as Pravesh Shukla was believe to have close ties with him.
