Chhattisgarh: BJP Government Under Heat After Journalist Is Arrested On Sex CD Scandal

The pre-dawn police raid at the residence of journalist Vinod Verma and his arrest have charged up the political atmosphere in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Chhattisgarh which goes to polls next year.

Chhattisgarh police picked up Verma from his house at 3.30 a.m. on Friday and allegedly recovered about 500 copies of a CD that contains sexual material linked to PWD Minister Rajesh Munat.

Stung by the episode, the Minister held a press conference along with other BJP leaders and termed the CD as "tampered and morphed" and urged Chief Minister Raman Singh to order a thorough probe into this.

"I am in politics for roughly 34 years and never thought I would ever witness such allegation which shows to what extent the level of politics has fallen," said an unfazed Munat.

Verma was produced before the chief judicial magistrate, who gave a three days transit demand to the Chhattisgarh police on Friday. But the police failed to produce the CD which they had claimed as evidence. When the police were repeatedly asked to produce the CD, they submitted it without any seal, sources said.

“I have a sex CD of a Chhattisgarh minister, he is Rajesh Munat, and that is why the Chhattisgarh government is not happy with me. I just have a pen drive and have nothing to do with the CDs. Clearly, I am being framed,” Verma told the reporters. Munat is considered a close aide of Chief Minister Raman Singh. The issue has pushed the BJP on to the back foot.

Verma, a senior journalist who was the part of BBC and many other news organisations, drafted a report on “Attacks on Media in Bastar” in 2016 as a member of the Editors Guild of India.

On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh police have played down their role in the arrest of Verma and remaining legal procedures. “Our role was limited to assisting them,” said Ghaziabad SSP H N Singh.

In his complaint, Prakash Bajaj, BJP IT Cell head in the state, alleged that Verma was attempting to extort money from him in the name of the tape. According to his claim, the minister got the call to his landline number and was threatened by Verma that he would ruin his reputation. But the police officers did not respond to questions on whether it was Verma who had made the call, whether it was from his number, or if the CD concerned was related to a BJP state minister, sources said.

The police officers also looked confused when the media persons demanded to know what was the need to arrest a journalist within 12 hours on the basis of an FIR in which he was not even named. Verma was interrogated at Indirapuram police station for nine hours and refused permission to talk to a lawyer. Several journalists and editors in the meantime rushed to the police station to meet him, but the police refused to allow them to meet Verma, sources said.

Bhupesh Baghel, Chhattisgarh Congress chief, slammed the State Police for "acting too fast" against the journalist who was not even named in the FIR filed on the matter at Raipur's Pandri police station on October 26.

The minister Munat, accompanied by top BJP leaders, visited the Civil Lines police station and registered a fresh FIR directly naming Verma.

Opposition parties, noted journalists, and civil rights activists have strongly condemned the crackdown on press freedom and demanded a probe against the minister.