Umm Muhammed Umar

The body of a 65-year-old man, believed to be mentally unstable, was discovered by the police in Madhya Pradesh, India, on Thursday night, just hours after he was severely assaulted by a man, who had demanded he reveal his identity. A video of the assault, posted by the assailant himself, had gone viral on social media. Reports read that the man had been mistaken for Muslim.

News agency PTI reports that the deceased has been identified as Bhanwarlal Jain. The man seen slapping Jain in the video is reportedly a local BJP leader. In the video, the accused, Dinesh Kushwaha, can be seen asking the victim whether his name is Mohammed, and demanding his Aadhaar(identity) card, all the while slapping him.

The Manasa police station spokesperson said, “After performing the last rites of the deceased, his family members came to know about the purported video and informed the police about it.”

MP Congress chief, Kamal Nath, tweeted: “What is happening in Madhya Pradesh. Tribals were beaten to death in Seoni, (major crime) incidents happened in Guna, Mahu and Mandla and now elderly man named Bhanwarlal Jain has been beaten to death in Neemuch district. As in Seoni, here too, the accused are linked to the BJP. Where is the law and order in the state? Till when would people be killed like this? Why are criminals so high in confidence? Government is only focusing on events.”

Kushwaha, and a friend who had filmed the incident, are now on the run.