Police have arrested Ram Singh and his son for murder
A one-year-old boy was killed and a policeman was injured in separate incidents of violence over public urination in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. The incidents surfaced hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address marking Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary, spoke about his government's focus on building toilets and on villages declaring themselves open-defecation free.
In Sagar district, two neighbours - Mohar Singh and Ram Singh - who were already in a dispute over right of access to a common passage between their homes - clashed after Ram Singh's eight-year-old son was found urinating near Mohan Singh's house.
"Mohar Singh objected to Ram Singh's son urinating near his house, which triggered the altercation. Ram Singh was joined by his elder son Umesh, who is around 20. Enraged, the father-son duo attacked Mohar Singh with lathis," Vikram Singh, Additional Superintendent of Police (Bina) said.
Mohar Singh's infant son Bhawan, who was sitting in his lap, was injured in the fight and taken to the hospital by his father, where doctors pronounced him dead.
"Police arrested both Ram Singh and his son Umesh and have booked them for murder," Vikram Singh added.
In the second incident in Khandwa, a police constable was attacked after he stopped a man from urinating in the open.
The constable, Suraj Yadav, was posted to a Traffic Police Station. He was attacked with stones and suffered a head injury. He has been hospitalised.
"A case has been registered in the matter and investigations are underway," Shiv Dayal, Superintendent of Police (Khandwa) said.
These incidents come less than a week after two Dalit children -a 12-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy - were beaten to death for open defecation in Shivpuri district.
PM Modi, at an event near Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat that was attended by more than 20,000 village heads, said Indians were more willing to talk about sanitation.
"In 60 months, we have provided toilets to over 60 crore people by constructing over 11 crore toilets. The world is amazed at our success," PM Modi, who launched 'Swachh Bharat Mission' in 2014, said.