Meerut: A young man was beaten up by a mob in front of cameras after he commented, during the filming of a discussion for a TV news channel, that the infrastructure and employment situation in Muzaffarnagar had not improved. The youth, in his early 20s, suffered serious injuries in the assault, which was allegedly committed by BJP workers.The incident occurred at Company Garden park in Muzaffarnagar, where a public discussion was being hosted by broadcast journalist Narendra Pratap on Wednesday. Video footage which was later released online shows Pratap talking to members of the public, asking them if their lives had improved under the current government in Uttar Pradesh.When Pratap asked the youth, Adnan, he said, “The condition of roads is the same as earlier. There have been no opportunities for the unemployed. Besides, quality of education has worsened.” Seconds after Pratap turned to other members of the audience, a mob can be seen forming around Adnan. The youth is then beaten up, forcing him to flee. However, he is caught and beaten severely by between 25 and 30 men while the cameras are still on.“There were people in the crowd who tried to cut him short when he was speaking. He spoke after I intervened and asked people who had gathered around him to not shut him down. Soon after, a scuffle began and I could see a mob assaulting the youth,” Pratap said.Several videos of the incident have now gone viral on social media. In one of the clips, some people can be heard asking the mob to let him go or he would die.“I only said that things had not changed much. People accused me of being a terrorist because I was commenting against the BJP government,” said Adnan, a class XII student at a school in Muzaffarnagar whose parents are in Saudi Arabia.Muzaffarnagar BJP president Sudhir Saini, who claimed to be present at the show, refuted allegations that his party’s workers had assaulted the youth. “No brawl occurred while I was present at the debate. I left the spot with party workers and supporters,” he told TOI on Thursday.Responding to the claims in the video, Muzaffarnagar police on Twitter replied, “Circle officer (city) and SHO Civil Lines have been informed about the matter and an investigation is being done by the CO (city). Action taken will be intimated after the investigation.” Muzaffarnagar senior superintendent of police Sudhir Singh told TOI that they have not received any FIR from the victim.

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