Man forced to wash another person's feet: MP govt invokes NSA against accused

Jabalpur, Oct 17 (PTI) The Madhya Pradesh government on Friday informed the High Court here that it had invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against five persons arrested for allegedly forcing an OBC man to wash the feet of one of them and drink the dirty water.

The action was taken in compliance with the court's court, stated an affidavit filed by the Damoh district collector and Superintendent of Police before a bench of Justices Vivek Agarwal and A K Singh.

The incident had taken place on October 11 at Sataria village in Damoh district.

During the hearing on Friday, the division bench also directed that notices be issued to the media houses which aired a video of the incident.

On October 15, the high court had taken suo motu cognizance of news reports and initiated a public interest litigation (PIL), stating that the recurring caste-related violence and discriminatory actions in Madhya Pradesh were shocking.

"Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras are all asserting their independent identities. If this is not controlled, within a century and a half, those who call themselves Hindus will fight among themselves and become non-existent," the bench had said.

The courts generally do not order action under the NSA as it is within the discretion of the executive, but if action was not taken immediately, the situation could escalate into violence, it had said.

According to police, Purshottam Kushwaha, who belongs to an Other Backward Classes community, allegedly posted on Instagram an Artificial Intelligence-generated image showing another villager, Annu Pandey, wearing a garland of shoes.

After the post went viral and sparked anger and tension in the area, Kushwaha deleted the post and apologised publicly.

But a village panchayat (assembly) was convened, and Kushwaha was allegedly forced to wash Pandey's feet and drink the same water.

The panchayat also imposed a fine of Rs 5,100 on him. A video of the humiliating proceedings was shared on social media.

Pandey and four others were arrested after the video went viral. PTI COR MAS KRK