Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria assured that action will be taken against the son of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA who was seen on video thrashing a man in a fit of road rage.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Kataria added that any action will be taken only after an investigation in conducted into the incident.
“Action will be taken against those who violate the law. Tell me if I have ever spared a criminal for being son of some influential person. But investigation has to be done,” Kataria was quoted as saying by ANI.
But the MLA from Banswara, Dhan Singh Rawat, brushed aside the controversy saying that it was a “matter related to children” and should not be given too much importance.
“We should not get involved in their matter. If there was a scuffle, it was wrong but we should not make mountain out of a molehill,” ANI quoted him as saying.
Rawat is a state minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, Parliamentary Affairs, and Election.
On 1 July, a CCTV footage showing Rawat’s son Rajveer repeatedly slapping a man for not allowing his car to overtake. The incident happened on 1 June.
The footage shows Rajveer’s vehicle overtaking the car and coming to a stop. He then walks up to the other car, opens the door and launches a flurry of blows on the driver. Rajveer’s aides, too, are seen attacking the man.
According to NDTV, the victim said that the two “had an argument” and he won’t file a case. Quoting Banswara superintendent of police (SP) Kalu Ram Rawat, Hindustan Times reports that the matter has been settled between the two parties and no action can be taken in the month-old incident since nobody has filed a complaint.
But opposition Congress was quick to pick the incident to highlight the high-handedness of some leaders from the ruling party.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot reportedly criticised the BJP government saying it has given a “free hand” to those in power to “break the law”.