In the early hours of June 5, Bhopal residents Junaid and Arman were returning from Dhanaura village near Vidisha after loading their vehicle with cattle when, at around 2.30 am, another vehicle blocked their way, forcing them to stop. A group of around 10-15 people approached, started assaulting them, and recorded videos.
“They were making a video of us…while they beat us… After this, they sat in our vehicle and made us sit in the car, continuing to beat us, and brought me and Arman to Sanchi police station,” a seriously injured Junaid told police in Vidisha district’s Sanchi, after which an FIR was registered on June 6.
On June 17, Junaid succumbed to his injuries.
Purported videos of the incident have since gone viral, including those uploaded on social media by the main accused, Dhruv Chaturvedi. The videos are now part of the evidence being examined by police, and Sub-Divisional Police Officer Pratibha Sharma said the clips are being looked into.
Chaturvedi was the leader of the group that surrounded the two men, allegedly assaulted them, and handed them over to the police. Chaturvedi’s group intercepted Junaid and Arman near a school at Vidisha-Kaudi Road at Mehgaon village.
“Some of these people were carrying sticks. They made us get down from the vehicle and started abusing us with foul language involving our mothers and sisters. They said we are taking away cows and that both of us should be killed today. Then they started beating us with sticks,” Junaid said in his statement to the police.
He also told police that Arman sustained injuries to “his head, legs, stomach, and entire body, and I also sustained injuries to both hands, both legs, back, and body”.
He said the accused then took the two of them to Sanchi police station, from where the police took them to Sanchi hospital.
One of the videos showed Charuvedi venting his anger at the police after taking the two men to the police station. “We risked our lives and chased down the vehicle… Police took no responsibility in this case and argued over jurisdiction. Police should be supporting us, but are not doing so,” he was heard saying, adding that “there is no police patrolling… We check the routes every alternate day”.
Chaturvedi and two others, Gagan Dubey and Rampal Rajput, were arrested on June 6, Sanchi police station in-charge Nitin Ahirwar said. “They have multiple criminal cases against them. Chaturvedi has over a dozen criminal cases for creating public disorder,” Ahirwar said.
According to police, Chaturvedi began vigilante activities in 2022, focusing on alleged cattle smugglers. Since then, he has claimed that he developed his own network of informants. “We have our own source to tip us off about cattle smugglers’ movements,” he has told local media while describing operations that often occurred late at night without police coordination. He has also highlighted his activities on social media.
On social media, he has also shown a pattern of calls for organised action and inflammatory rhetoric. He has also criticised BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for celebrating Eid with the Muslim community.
He has also protested against filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. “He has also given representations to the district administration demanding that only Hindus be allowed to set up shops during Ram Leela mela festivities,” a senior police officer said.
Chaturvedi maintains a makeshift gym on the terrace of his home where he “routinely works out with a mace and other traditional gym equipment”, police said.
In mourning, Junaid’s family said he never went very far from home and that on the night of the incident, he had left saying he would be back in four-five hours.
“On June 4, around midnight, he left to unload tomatoes, saying he would return in four-five hours. But he never came back,” Zaid, his younger brother, said.
His cousin Anwar Qureshi said, “Junaid did welding, porter work in the vegetable market, and construction work. He sometimes accompanied trucks to unload goods, but never went far.”
On June 17, Junaid succumbed to his injuries. 
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