Indian man’s home demolished after urinating on tribal member

BHOPAL, India: A man accused of publicly urinating on a member of a tribal community in central India had his home demolished by authorities on Wednesday after footage of the assault sparked public condemnation. A video shared widely on social media appeared to show Pravesh Shukla urinating on his young victim in a dark street while nonchalantly smoking a cigarette.

The attack took place last year in the central Sidhi district, but only came to public attention this week.

Local police said Shukla had been arrested and charged in connection with the assault, which could see him fined and jailed for a year. Authorities also demolished his home after it was “found to be illegally constructed”, police officer Ravinder Verma told AFP.

Local media showed a bulldozer clawing apart the roof and walls of Shukhla´s home in Madhya Pradesh state. India counts more than 100 million people as belonging to its diverse indigenous tribal communities, collectively known as Adivasis.

Along with those at the bottom rungs of Hinduism´s rigid caste hierarchy, Adivasis have been subjected to violence, prejudice and discrimination for centuries.

India has in recent years recorded numerous instances of authorities punishing suspected criminals by demolishing their homes with excavators.

Rights groups have condemned “bulldozer justice” as an unlawful exercise in collective punishment by India´s Hindu nationalist government that has disproportionately targeted the country´s Muslim minority.