MLA-father of man accused of hitting 5 people with his SUV lands in row on remarks against cop

SHIVPURI: An MLA from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh, whose son is accused of hitting and injuring five people with his SUV, has landed in a controversy following his alleged remarks against an IPS officer who took action in the case.

Legislator Pritam Lodhi's son Dinesh is accused of ramming his SUV, a Mahindra Thar, into three young men riding a motorcycle and two women walking on road under the Karera police station area of Shivpuri district on Thursday, leaving them injured.

Pritam Lodhi is the BJP MLA from Pichhore in Shivpuri district.

Police registered a case against Dinesh Lodhi and summoned him to the Karera police station for questioning.

Karera Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDOP) Ayush Jakhar said Dinesh Lodhi was questioned at the police station and taken to the accident spot as part of investigation in the case.

The IPS officer added that the black film on the vehicle was removed and a challan was filed under the Motor Vehicles Act.

Pritam Lodhi later claimed Jakhar told his son not to be seen in Karera in the future.

In a video circulating on social media, the MLA is purportedly heard telling Jakhar that Karera is not anyone's "daddy's property." The ruling party legislator is also heard saying his son will come to Karera and contest elections from there.

PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee President Jitu Patwari, sharing the video on "X," sharply criticised the BJP government, saying the state no longer experiences the "rule of law," but rather the open abuse of power and anarchy in the name of "Mohan Raj" (referring to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav).

He said the incident of the MLA's son hitting innocent people with his vehicle has shocked the entire state, but even more worrying and shameful is that when the law began to take its course, the lawmaker resorted to openly threatening senior officers.

"This is not just the arrogance of one individual, but the result of failure of the entire governance system," the Congress leader added.