Mohammad Mian, the BJP leader, claimed the man was drunk and had been abusing the prime minister.
A Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Uttar Pradesh was on Monday caught on camera using a stick to assault a disabled man who was supportive of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, reports said. The disabled man, Manoj Gujjar, was allegedly in an inebriated state and was arrested for breach of peace before being released on Tuesday. The incident took place in Sambhal district.
Mohammad Mian, the BJP leader, told ANI on Wednesday that he had assaulted Gujjar because he was abusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Adityanath. However, he denied he had shoved the stick inside Gujjar’s mouth, as reports had claimed. Video footage of the incident had shown Mohammad Mian purportedly taking the stick very close to Gujjar’s mouth to send him away.
Mohammad Mian also claimed it was a conspiracy to malign the BJP. “I was just trying to make him leave the place,” Mian was quoted as saying. “I didn’t shove the stick in his mouth.” He told The Times of India that he had lost control and scolded Gujjar, and was ready to apologise to him.
The incident
The incident took place on Monday evening outside the collector’s office in Sambhal, where a delegation of local BJP workers had gone to meet the sub-divisional magistrate, reported The Times of India. Gujjar reportedly started chanting slogans in favour of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and criticised BJP leaders. Mian then allegedly took out a stick from his vehicle and began assaulting him. The video showed Gujjar saying he would vote only for Akhilesh Yadav. Gujjar was arrested soon after.
A local police official told Hindustan that Gujjar was booked because he was creating a ruckus and a medical test confirmed that he was drunk. Police saw the video only later and will now file a case against the BJP leader, he said.
Superintendent of Police (Sambhal) Yamuna Prasad told The Times of India: “During the preliminary investigation, it was found that Mian has criminal antecedents and is a known history-sheeter…Gujjar has been sent to jail because the incident took place inside the collectorate. We have ordered the additional SP to take cognisance of the matter after watching the video.”
BJP's Mohd Miya on video of him assaulting a specially abled man: He was abusing Modi ji & Yogi ji, I tried to first explain things, he was drunk, it was a conspiracy to malign BJP, I was just trying to make him leave the place. I didn't shove stick in his mouth. pic.twitter.com/9WbJaDdmLR
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) December 26, 2018
source: Scroll.in
