'Are you Mohammed?': 'BJP leader' had slapped man found dead in MP

Madhya Pradesh police on Saturday arrested a 38-year-old man for alleged murder after a video showed him hitting a mentally challenged person repeatedly while seeking to know his identity.

The body of the victim had been found in Neemuch district days after he went missing.

His family persons later found a video in which accused Dinesh Kushwaha, 38, is seen slapping him repeatedly, asking if his name was 'Mohammed' and demanding to see his Aadhaar card.

Kushwaha, who the Congress alleged was a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, was arrested on Saturday evening, said Superintendent of Police (SP) Suraj Kumar Verma.

Bhawarlal Jain, 65, a resident of Sarsi village in Ratlam district of the state, went missing on May 16 after visiting a religious programme at Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, police said.

He was found dead on Thursday evening on Rampura Road under the jurisdiction of Manasa police station, 38 km from Neemuch district headquarters.

"After performing the last rites of the deceased, his family members came to know about a video which showed the purported assault and informed police," said K L Dangi, in-charge of Manasa police station.

Police registered a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 302 (murder) and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), and launched a probe.

The man purportedly seen assaulting Jain was identified as Dinesh Kushwaha, a resident of Manasa, the police official said.

"The video was probably shot on May 19," police official Dangi added.

The video shows the accused asking the victim if his name is 'Mohammed' and then slapping him repeatedly while asking for his Aadhaar card, the official said.

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh alleged on Twitter that the accused was a BJP worker.

'I have got information that a crime has been registered against Dinesh Kushwaha of BJP under (IPC) section 302 (murder). Let's see if he gets arrested or not,' Singh said in a tweet.

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath raised questions over the law-and-order situation in the state.

'What is happening in Madhya Pradesh after all? Tribals were lynched in Seoni, incidents of Guna, Mhow, Mandla and now an elderly person whose name is said to be Bhanwarlal Jain (is killed) in Manasa of Neemuch district of the state,' he said in a tweet.

The accused in the latest incident was also associated with BJP like those involved in the Seoni incident, claimed Nath, a former chief minister.

Asked about Congress' allegation, state BJP secretary Rajneesh Agrawal told PTI, "The incident is unfortunate. An accused is an accused and it has nothing to do with the party politics. None of the people involved in such acts will be spared by the state government. Our party believes in the rule of law."

"Previous Congress governments used to protect criminals," he alleged.

State Home Minister Narottam Mishra said a case has been registered against Kushwaha, and probe is on.

SP Suraj Kumar Verma said Kushwaha was being interrogated and CCTV footage of the area where the incident occurred was being examined.