BJP leader in MP’s Sidhi arrested for rape, blackmailing woman; expelled

Sidhi Addl SP Arvind Shrivastava said the woman filed a rape and extortion case against Ajitpal Singh Chauhan

BHOPAL: A local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi has been arrested on charges that he raped a party colleague, filmed the act and then blackmailed her, police said on Wednesday.

BJP said Ajitpal Singh Chauhan, who had joined the BJP after quitting the Congress three years ago, has been expelled from the party. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Ajitpal Singh Chauhan, a resident of Sidhi town, was arrested from Rewa on Tuesday. He has been sacked by the BJP.

Sidhi additional superintendent of police Arvind Shrivastava said, “The woman filed the case against Chauhan that he raped her and blackmailing her for money. The police found the evidence against Chauhan and arrested him.”

Before he was arrested, Chauhan called the case a conspiracy. “It is a political conspiracy against me. I am sure that the court will do justice,” he said.

BJP district president Dev Kumar Singh Chauhan said that Ajitpal Singh joined the BJP about three years ago and was previously with the Congress. “He was a primary member of the party… Now, he has been sacked from the party after the arrest on the charges of rape,” he added.

Police said a case was registered against the accused under sections 64 (1) (rape), 308(5) (extortion), 296 (obscene act), 251(3) (giving gift and property to conceal offence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.