Indian Man Killed on "Suspicion of Being Muslim"

On May 19, police in Neemuch, western Madhya Pradesh, were notified about an unidentified dead body allegedly stored in a freezer.

The police went to the location and retrieved the body, which was identified as 65-year-old Bhanwarlal Jain. According to The Wire, Jain is a Sarsi (Sirsi) village resident who wandered into Neemuch. Jain was on his way back from attending a religious event in the Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan on May 16 when he got lost.

Jain's family filed a missing person report to the Chittorgarh police on May 17.

Two days after his family reported him missing, Jain's body was found.

Suraj Kumar, superintendent of Neemuch police, said they circulated messages on social media and nearby police stations to help identify the body. "By evening, the Jain family from Ratlam claimed the body, identifying him as Bhawarlal Jain, a mentally challenged man missing for the last four days," Kumar explained.

At the time, Neemuch police could not pinpoint Jain's cause of death.

However, a video of a man beating Jain helped identify the possible reason for Jain's death. When the video reached Jain's family, his younger brother, Rakesh Jain, filed a complaint against the man in the video.

According to Rakesh, his brother was not "stable enough to marry, but he could go about his daily routine." "He was like a blank piece of paper with no anger, hurt, or negativity," he added.

Police later identified Dinesh Kushwah, a former employee of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His wife is a local BJP leader.

In the video, Kuswah can be seen roughing up Jain while asking him if he is a Muslim. "Is your name Mohammed?" Kuswah asked Jain. In the video, Jain looked confused and appeared to have no idea about the situation.

Kuswah proceeded to slap Jain multiple times while demanding his Aadhaar card. He was initially invited by the police for an inquiry but declined.

On May 21, Madhya Pradesh Police arrested Dinesh Kushwah. Kanhaiyalal Jangikar, the head of the Manasa police station, said Kushwah was arrested in his home on Saturday.

Speaking to The Quint, Pawan Patidar, the district president for Neemuch, confirmed Kushwah's connection to the BJP.

Digvijaya Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP and the Congress leader, suspected that the BJP might interfere with police proceedings. In a Tweet, Singh said, "I have found out that a case of IPC Section 302 has been registered against BJP's Dinesh Kushwah."

"Let's see whether he is arrested or not," Singh added.

Other politicians were fearful that the BJP would interfere. Kamal Nath, president of the state Congress unit, also expressed a similar concern.

Rajneesh Agrawal, the state secretary for the BJP, called Jain's death an unfortunate incident and immediately dismissed Kushwah's connection to the BJP. "An accused is an accused, and it has nothing to do with party politics," Agrawal said.

"None of the people involved in such an act will be spared by the state government," he added.

If you like our posts, subscribe to the Atheist Republic newsletter to get exclusive content delivered weekly to your inbox. Also, get the book "Why There is No God" for free.

Click Here to Subscribe

Donating = Loving

Heart Icon

Bringing you atheist articles and building active godless communities takes hundreds of hours and resources each month. If you find any joy or stimulation at Atheist Republic, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner.

Or make a one-time donation in any amount.