Team Clarion
BHOPAL — A case was filed over a video surfacing on the internet which claims that former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti was caught taking bribe from a contractor, reported The Hindu.
Bhopal crime branch DCP Akhil Patel confirmed that a case was filed on Monday (October 29, 2024) in the matter and a probe had been launched.
According to Crime branch police station in-charge Ashok Maravi, a video has been shared on multiple social media platforms showing pictures of Bharti and a female IPS officer of Karnataka cadre.
In the 40-second video, a narrator claimed that in 2003, when Bharti was the CM, the officer, Roopa Diwakar Moudgil had visited the BJP leader’s house as a maid and had caught her indulging in corrupt practices with some contractors.
Maravi said that a case has been filed against unknown persons based on a complaint from Ms. Bharti’s personal secretary Umesh Garg, who has alleged that the former CM’s pictures had been used to make misleading, baseless, and objectionable claims about her.
The case was filed under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 336 (4) (forging false documents or false electronic records causing damage or injury) and 356 (2) (defamation).
According to the FIR, the video claimed that Bharti was shocked to see Moudgil. She was arrested from her residence.
Garg also said that the video had been uploaded to tarnish the image of Ms. Bharti.
Maravi said that the police are probing the source and authenticity of the video.
“We have also mailed to all the platforms where the video was uploaded to get it removed from there,” he said.