Days after Sidhi Incident, Tribal Man Assaulted and Urinated Upon in Prakasam

TIRUPATI: Days after the shocking incident in Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh, a worse incident took place in Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh. A tribal man was mercilessly beaten up by a group of 8-9 miscreants, who then proceeded to urinate on his face.

Worse, he was made to drink the urine. The inhuman treatment some days ago took place at Mukthinuthalapadu road near the New Calvary Temple, Ongole. The provocation was a love affair the victim had, police said on Wednesday.

The incident came to light as a video surfaced on social media, causing widespread outrage and anger. The victim, identified as Mota Naveen (26), can be seen in the video being brutally attacked by the gang, which proceeded to urinate on him and forced him to drink it.

The police arrested all the six men. They were R. Abhilash (19), A. Jayashankar (21), Shadiq Gafoor (23) and three minors (who cannot be named). A search operation has been launched to apprehend three more involved in the condemnable act. They were M. Ramanjaneyulu (27), C. Prabhu (20) and ENarendra (22), police said.

According to Prakasam district SP, Mallika Garg, the assault on Mota Naveen took place on June 19 at the hands of his friend, Ramanjaneyulu, and eight others. This followed a rift between Ramanjaneyulu and Naveen, caused by Naveen’s love affair with a girl, who was sister to Ramanjaneyulu's friend.

"Naveen had eloped with the girl. Following this, a case was filed against him under provisions of POCSO Act, followed by his arrest. However, Naveen continued his relationship with the girl. This infuriated Ramanjaneyulu.

Subsequently, Ramanjaneyulu lured Naveen into a meeting on the pretext of reconciliation. However, after sitting together and consuming alcohol, Ramanjaneyulu and his friends pounced on Naveen,” the SP told the media.

Following this, Naveen filed a police complaint and sought medical treatment at a hospital in Ongole.

While the police investigated the case, the video depicting Naveen being attacked and urinated upon came to their attention. The police immediately invoked the provisions of the Prevention of SC/ST Atrocities Act and made the arrests.

The SP said the incident was not a result of any caste-based prejudice and all the accused were  previously friends with the victim. Ramanjaneyulu and Naveen were childhood friends and they have a history of engaging in several serious crimes. About 30 cases had been registered against them.