"Arrest Him If He's Guilty": BJP MLA After Son Shoots At Tribal

A BJP MLA's son is on the run after firing at a tribal man in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. The incident comes a month after the alleged representative of a BJP MLA had urinated on a tribal man in the state. 

The back-to-back crimes in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led state have invited scathing criticism from the opposition months ahead of the Assembly polls. State Congress chief Kamal Nath asked whether the only work BJP leaders had left was to "harass tribals, Dalits, women and people of all communities". 

The MLA has expressed grief over the incident and said his son should be arrested if he is guilty. 

Vivekanand Vaishya, son of BJP Singrauli MLA Ram Lallu Vaishya, allegedly fired at 34-year-old Surya Kumar Khairwar on Thursday evening. An FIR has been filed against him for attempt to murder and under sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as well as the Arms Act. 

Police said Vaishya was travelling in his car about 25 km from the Singrauli district headquarters when he had an altercation with a group of persons standing on a narrow road. Mr Khairwar stepped in to defuse the situation when Vaishya allegedly shot at him. 

"The bullet hit the palm of Mr Khairwar's right hand, and he was admitted to the district hospital. He has undergone treatment and his condition is much better now," said Assistant Superintendent of Police (Singrauli) Shiv Kumar Verma. 

Vaishya is on the run and a reward of Rs 10,000 has been announced for information leading to his arrest. This is not Vaishya's first run-in with the law. He had been arrested last year for allegedly assaulting forest guards and had been granted bail. The police said they will also move court for the revocation of his bail in the assault case. 

MLA Ram Lallu Vaishya said the law should take its course. "I have always believed in brotherhood. The people in my constituency are my people and have elected me thrice. I have never applied pressure on the police. Let the law take its course," he said.

"If Vivek is guilty, they should arrest him. Surya Kumar is from my village and the incident has made me sad. Vivek has not been living with us for the past five to six years. There should be an independent investigation. The demonstrations being done by the Congress party are wrong, an FIR has already been filed," Mr Vaishya said. 

In a video that went viral last month, Pravesh Shukla, who claimed to be the representative of Sidhi BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla, was seen smoking a cigarette while urinating on a tribal man's face, hair and neck.

Hitting out the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, Kamal Nath tweeted yesterday, "There is a competition among the BJP leaders of Madhya Pradesh to persecute the tribal community. Not long after the incident of urination on a tribal youth in Sidhi, Vivekanand Vaishya, son of BJP MLA Ram Lallu Vaishya, has shot at a tribal youth in Singrauli. The young man is seriously injured. I wish him speedy recovery." 

"I want to know from the chief minister whether the only work left for BJP leaders is to harass tribals, Dalits, women and people of all communities. Far from curbing crimes, you are seen promoting criminals," Mr Nath added. 

"Recently, you have made it clear how fast you are progressing in the campaign of forming a criminal BJP by including a person convicted for running a sex racket from Harda in the party. State-backed crimes are shaming Madhya Pradesh," the tweet said.