In the viral video case on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which passes through Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, five individuals have been identified for extorting ₹25,000 from BJP leader Manohar Lal Dhakad by threatening to circulate an obscene video. All five accused have been arrested by the Bhanpura police. Among them, three are reported to be employees of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Dhakad had earlier informed the police that the accused extorted money by threatening to make the video go viral.
According to the Bhanpura police, following a detailed investigation, all the accused were tracked down and taken into custody. Further legal proceedings are currently underway.
What Happened?
It is reported that the incident took place on May 13, when BJP leader Manohar Lal Dhakad left Mandsaur around 10 a.m., travelling towards Bhanpura via Narayangarh and Rampur in his car. Later, around 8 p.m., while he was departing from Bhanpura’s 8 Line area, a 1033 ambulance overtook his vehicle and abruptly stopped in front of it. Four youths got out of the ambulance and surrounded his car. Claiming they had obtained an objectionable video of him from a CCTV camera in the area, they confronted the leader. The accused then intimidated him by showing the video and demanded ₹25,000.
Fearing that the video would go viral, reports suggest that the BJP leader Manoharlal Dhakad gave Rs 20,000 in cash on the spot. Then he transferred Rs 5,000 from his mobile. After this, he lodged a complaint at Bhanpura police station, on the basis of which the police registered a case under sections 294, 309 (4) BNS and IT Act of the IPC. Seeing the seriousness of the matter, the police immediately started action and on the information of the informer, an accused named Bane Singh was arrested on June 14.
During police interrogation, Singh, who turned accused, revealed the names of four other accused, among them Ajay Meena, Kamlesh Meghwal, Rohit Nagar and Sanwarlal Mali. The police have arrested all of them and seized the vehicle used in the incident, five mobile phones and Rs 10,000 in cash from them. The police say that there may be more revelations in the case, and the investigation is still going on. This incident has become a topic of discussion in the entire area.
Viral Video
Manohar Dhakad was caught on video with a woman on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway on May 13. He was arrested on May 25 but was later released. After a video showing him in an objectionable situation with a woman in a public place surfaced, another video of the BJP leader dancing following the incident emerged two days later.
After a video of him being found in an objectionable condition with his female friend in a public place surfaced, society also shunned him, and he was removed from the post of National Minister of the Youth Association of Dhakad Samaj. Meanwhile, the BJP says that the person seen in the video is not a primary member of the party.
