70 MP Policemen Came to Evict Us. We Wanted to Reap Produce First, So They Beat Us: Mother of Guna Victim

After the viral video of Madhya Police personnel beating a Dalit farmer couple who resisted eviction from a plot of government land allotted for a college in Guna city, the victim's mother has spoken out about the incident.

The couple also consumed pesticide in protest, a senior official said on Wednesday. Their condition was now stable, he said, adding that the police were "compelled" to use force against them as they resisted the eviction. The video showed the police beating the man with batons mercilessly. The incident took place on Tuesday.

The mother of the victim told ANI that 70 MP Police personnel first arrived at the land, saying that it belonged to the government. "We requested them to let us reap agricultural produce first. But they started abusing and beating us. My son took poison in anger but police the ignored it. We admitted him to hospital," she said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has directed immediate removal of Collector and SP of Guna and ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident.

Opposition Congress slammed the use of force and demanded action against those responsible for the incident.

"The (farm) land was reserved for a government model college. Rajkumar Ahirwar (38) and his wife Savitri (35) were working on the land. Gabbu Pardi, who had encroached on the land, had given them work," said district collector S Vishwanathan. When officials asked them to vacate the field, they protested and drank pesticide at the behest of those who had encroached on the land, he claimed.

The two also refused to go to hospital so the police had to use force to take them to hospital, the collector claimed. "Their condition is now stable," Vishwanathan added.