Indore: A PIL was filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday seeking a CBI probe into the honey-trap scandal that has rocked the state and snowballed into a political controversy.
The PIL, filed by Indore resident Digvijay Singh Bhandari, has also sought that Indore Municipal Corporation city engineer Harbhajan Singh be booked under relevant sections of POCSO and rape.
Singh had blown the lid off the honey-trapping and blackmailing racket last week, alleging that he was being blackmailed to the tune of Rs 3 crore over objectionable video clips. He is, however, untraceable since the scandal became public.
Five women and a man were arrested in Indore and Bhopal on Wednesday and Thursday for allegedly running the racket, and police had seized electronic gadgets including spy cameras as well as mobile phones and cash.
MP police had identified the accused as Aarti Dayal (29), Shweta Vijay Jain (39), Shweta Swapnil Jain (48), Barkha Soni (34) and Omprakash Kori (45). The petitioner has sought that Harbhajan Singh be booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act as well, contending that he had allegedly confessed to having sexual relations with the fifth accused while she was a minor.
The plea has also accused the engineer of corruption, demanding additionally that the female accused not be given bail, alleging that they are “influential” and may tamper with evidence.
“The investigators have slipped into silence after registering one FIR. Evidence is also being supressed… In the larger public interest, it is imperative that the probe be taken away from MP police and handed over to the CBI to ensure enquiry is held away from the influence of MP politicians,” said Manohar Dalal, advocate for the petitioner.
The HC admitted the petition, but did not specify the next date of hearing. The scandal took political overtones when senior Congress leader and former CM Digvijaya Singh appeared to suggest that accused Shweta Vijay Jain was an office-bearer of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha when former MLA Jitu Jirati was president of the state wing.
Refuting the claims, Jirati challenged the Congress government to launch an investigation into the allegations. State ministers Sajjan Singh Verma and PC Sharma have alleged that the honey trap racket is a conspiracy to topple the Congress government.
Former BJP minister Narottam Mishra, too, had demanded a CBI probe, but labour minister Mahendra Singh Sisodia asked the BJP leaders to wait for the report of the Special Task Force.
(Inputs from Arun Trivedi in Indore)
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