SIT records MP minister Kunwar Vijay Shah’s statement in Colonel Qureshi case

A senior police officer said Shah was questioned by the SIT for an hour in Jabalpur this week; the report will be submitted to the SC before the July 28 hearing

Bhopal: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has recorded the statement of Madhya Pradesh minister Kunwar Vijay Shah, two months after a case was filed against him for making offensive remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, an Indian Army officer who had briefed the media on Operation Sindoor.

Kunwar Vijay Shah, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), made a remark in May that communalised Qureshi’s presence at the briefings. His comments sparked public outrage (PTI)

A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said Shah was questioned by the SIT for an hour this week in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur, and the report will be submitted before the Supreme Court ahead of the next hearing scheduled for July 28.

Shah, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), made a remark in May that communalised Qureshi’s presence at the briefings. His comments sparked public outrage.

Raising questions over the delay in recording the statement, the opposition expressed concerns about the fairness of the probe, especially after Shah was seen sharing the stage with chief minister Mohan Yadav upon the latter’s return from a foreign visit on July 20.

“Since May 12, the BJP-led state government has been shielding Shah. A case was registered against him on the order of the MP High Court. The police didn’t arrest him for 14 days before the Supreme Court stayed his arrest. SIT didn’t record his statement for two months. Now, Shah is sharing the stage with the CM — how can we expect a fair probe report? We are now looking at the apex court with hope for strict action against him,” Congress spokesperson KK Mishra said.

BJP spokesperson Durgesh Keshvani said, “We can’t speculate and comment as the matter is pending before the Supreme Court.”

Shah triggered the controversy on May 12 while addressing a programme in Indore, following Operation Sindoor — India’s retaliation against Pakistan for the April 22 Pahalgam terror strike. “Those who widowed our daughters, we sent a sister of their own to teach them a lesson,” he had said.

Referring to his remarks as a lapse in word choice, Shah had issued an apology — a 45-second video clip and a signed statement — on X.

The top court termed the apology “an insincere attempt to escape accountability” and ordered the state’s director general of police (DGP) to constitute the SIT, calling the matter a “litmus test” for the state government. A three-member SIT, comprising inspector general of police (Sagar zone) Pramod Verma, deputy inspector general of police (special armed force, Bhopal) Kalyan Chakraborty, and superintendent of police (Dindori district) Vahini Singh, was formed to probe further.