Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Viral video claims IPS officer caught BJP leader Uma Bharti taking bribe; case filed in Bhopal

A video has been uploaded to multiple platforms showing pictures of Mr. Bharti and a female IPS officer of Karnataka cadre with a narrator making allegations of corruption

by · The Hindu

The Bhopal police have registered an FIR over a video being circulated on the internet allegedly claiming that a senior police officer had caught former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti taking a bribe from a contractor, officers said. 

Bhopal crime branch DCP Akhil Patel confirmed that a case in the matter was filed on Monday (October 29, 2024) and that a probe had been launched. 

Crime branch police station in-charge Ashok Maravi told The Hindu that a video has been uploaded to multiple platforms showing pictures of Ms. Bharti and a female IPS officer of Karnataka cadre. 

In the 40-second video, a narrator makes claims that in 2003, when Ms. Bharti was the CM, the officer, Roopa Diwakar Moudgil had gone to the BJP leader’s house as a maid and had caught her indulged in corrupt practices with some contractors.

Mr. Maravi said that a case has been filed against unknown persons based on a complaint from Mr. 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). 

As per the FIR, the video goes on to claim that Ms. Bharti, who was shocked to see Ms. Moudgil, was arrested from her residence.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Garg also said that the video had been uploaded to tarnish the image of Ms. Bharti.

Mr. 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. 

Published - October 29, 2024 08:50 pm IST