Dalit man assaulted, humiliated in M.P.; accused arrested after videos go viral

A 30-year-old man has been arrested in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district for allegedly assaulting and humiliating a 20-year-old Dalit man after two videos of the seven-month-old incident went viral on social media, police officers said on Tuesday (February 3, 2026).

According to the police, the accused, identified as Dharmendra Singh Tomar, a resident of Ambah in Morena district, was arrested on Tuesday after the videos came to light.

Morena Superintendent of Police Sameer Sourabh told The Hindu that the accused and the victim were part of the same circle and used to spend time together.

“They used to drink together and the incident had taken place in a drunken state. It was recorded by a third friend who shared the videos on social media after he had a fallout with the accused,” Mr. Sourabh said.

In one of the videos, the accused is seen forcing the victim to squat and asking him when he would return the money. In the other video, the accused is seen making the victim perform an obscene act and and slapping him.

Mr. Sourabh said there was a brief monetary angle involved in the matter.

“Although it’s not significant to the context and the victim has also denied that the monetary transaction was the reason for assault. He was also not willing to file a complaint when the police reached out to him and he had also not informed his family about the incident,” the SP said, adding that the police lodged a case after taking cognisance of the videos and the accused was apprehended within two hours.

Ambah Sub-Divisional Police Officer Ravi Singh Bhadoriya said that an FIR had been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 296 and Section 3(1)(e) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act at Ambah police station.

Mr. Bhadoriya said the victim used to live as a tenant in Mr. Tomar’s lane but shifted houses after the incident.