Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], May 20 (ANI): The Madhya Pradesh government has constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the controversial remarks against Col Sofiya Qureshi made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kunwar Vijay Shah, who serves as the Tribal Affairs minister in the state cabinet.
This development comes after the Supreme Court directed the Madhya Pradesh government to form an SIT, comprising three IPS officers, including a lady officer, while coming down heavily on Shah for his remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, referring to her as “sister of terrorists”.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh directed that the SIT must consist of three senior IPS officers from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, who are currently serving in the state but do not originally belong to it. The court also specified that one of the officers must be a woman.
The apex court instructed the Director General of Police to constitute the SIT by May 20.
Terming the minister’s remarks as “filthy, crass and shameful”, the court rejected Shah’s public apology, calling it insincere. “The nation is ashamed of you (Shah). Redemption is yours to seek,” said Justice Surya Kant.
While the court stayed Shah’s arrest, it directed him to join and fully cooperate with the investigation.
Although the bench said it would not monitor the investigation directly, it made it clear that it would keep a close watch on the case.
The SIT has been asked to submit a status report on the probe, and the matter has been posted for hearing on May 28.
Earlier, Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition (LoP) and Congress leader Umang Singhar welcomed the Supreme Court’s direction.
He said, “I welcome the decision of the Supreme Court. I can say that it is a move of the Apex Court in the army’s honour. But the Bharatiya Janata Party government, be it the central government or the state government, did not wake up; the court did, but they didn’t. The Supreme Court said that the minister’s remark is not worthy of apology, but the BJP feels that it is worthy of apology, and that is why the state government hasn’t asked for the resignation of the minister yet.”
