A tribal man was brutally beaten up and urinated on by a group of men in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district. The assault, which took place on June 19, was captured on video and has since gone viral on social media, sparking widespread outrage.
The local police have arrested three individuals allegedly involved in the heinous act. However, two more suspects are still at large, and the authorities are actively pursuing them.
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Malika Garg, the Superintendent of Police, Prakasam, confirmed that several people featured in the video have been identified. Three of them have been apprehended, but the main accused, Ramanjaneyulu, remains at large.
The victim, identified as Mota Naveen, filed a complaint with the police the morning after the incident. The authorities promptly registered a case of assault and invoked the SC and ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, which addresses crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
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However, allegations have surfaced claiming that the police did not take immediate action due to their familiarity with the assailants, considering them a gang of friends and accomplices in various criminal activities.
According to the police investigation, Naveen and the prime accused, Manne Ramanjaneyulu, were childhood friends and had been involved in numerous theft and robbery cases together in Ongole and Bapatla. On the night of the incident, they met behind the KIMS Hospital in Ongole to consume alcohol.
As the evening progressed, Ramanjaneyulu and Naveen got embroiled in a heated argument, revolving around past issues and an accusation that Naveen had been providing information to the police. The argument escalated, leading Ramanjaneyulu to physically assault Naveen.
Witnessing the altercation, the rest of the group joined Ramanjaneyulu in assaulting Naveen. The attack lasted several minutes, during which time some members of the group even went so far as to urinate on him. One of the assailants recorded the entire incident on a mobile phone, later sharing it on social media platforms, where it quickly gained attention.
The emergence of the video sparked widespread condemnation and outrage, prompting a swift response from the authorities. The police have assured the public that they are committed to apprehending the remaining suspects and bringing them to justice.