After Col Sofiya remark, BJP Minister's photo with rape victim's family goes viral

Madhya Pradesh Tribal Welfare Minister Vijay Shah, already embroiled in a controversy over his communal remarks targeting Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, is once again in the news — this time for compromising the privacy of a rape victim's family.

Earlier this week, Shah visited the family of a rape-murder victim in Khandwa, handing over a cheque as compensation. However, during the visit, local party workers and attendees clicked photos of the victim's family, which were later widely circulated on social media.

The viral images revealed the identities of the victim's relatives, drawing criticism from various quarters for violating their right to privacy and potentially breaching laws protecting the identities of victims in sexual assault cases.

This latest controversy compounded the trouble for the BJP leader, who is under fire for a communal and derogatory statement he made last month about Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, an Indian Army officer who led the media briefing on Operation Sindoor.

Speaking at a public event, Shah made a rabidly communal remark on Sofiya Qureshi,claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sent "a sister from the same community" as those in Pakistan to avenge the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.

"Modi ji is striving for society. Those who widowed our daughters, we sent a sister of their own to teach them a lesson," Shah said to an applause from the audience.

Referring to the act of terrorists identifying tourists based on their religion, he continued with a highly controversial analogy, and said. "Now, Modi ji could not have done the same. So he sent a sister from their society, so that if you widowed our sisters, a sister of yours will come and undress you".

The remarks, viewed as both communal and sexist, triggered sharp condemnation from across the political spectrum and led to a case being registered against him following a Madhya Pradesh High Court directive.

Despite issuing a public apology, claiming he was willing to apologise "ten times" if anyone was hurt, the Supreme Court rejected Shah's explanation, calling it insincere.

"These are crocodile tears. The kind of crass comments you made, completely thoughtlessly We know how to deal with this as per the law," the top court said.

The court also ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), consisting of three senior IPS officers — at least one of whom must be a woman — to probe the matter.

Tune In