BHOPAL: A day after an encounter with an IPS officer, BJP MLA from Pichhore Pritam Lodhi has escalated tensions by threatening to fill the officer’s house with cow dung if the Shivpuri Superintendent of Police (SP) and Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) fail to give clarification on the issue.
The video of Lodhi’s remarks went viral on social media on Tuesday, prompting the IPS Association to condemn his remarks and sparking opposition demands for disciplinary action against him.
The controversy began after Dinesh Lodhi, Lodhi’s younger son, allegedly hit five people with his Thar car. In a video that went viral, Dinesh was seen blaming the victims for the incident. He was summoned by Carrera SDOP Dr Aayush Jhakar on Saturday, who warned him not to appear in Carrera again.
In response, Pritam Lodhi initially appeared to prioritize public sentiment by urging action against his son. However, he later lashed out at the officer, saying, “Does Carrera belong to your father? My son will go there and contest the elections. If your father has the courage, try to stop him. You should know our background.”
In a later video, Lodhi directly challenged the SP and SDOP, demanding to know who was directing police orders from Delhi.
“My hand weight used to be 2.5 kg, but now it is 250 kg. If they don’t clarify within 15 days who is directing them from Delhi. Is it PM Modi or Amit Shah or someone else? I will take 10,000 people to the SDOP house and fill it with cow dung,” he said in the video.
Lodhi said the incident was a minor incident that had been exaggerated by the police, and accused them of adopting a heavy-handed approach.
IPS Association condemns
Meanwhile, IPS president Chanchal Shekhar condemned Lodhi’s statements, stating that the video that went viral contained derogatory, uncivil and caste-based comments against Dr Jhakar. He added, “Lodhi’s behavior is strongly condemnable and inconsistent with the dignity of public service. Such behavior undermines the morale of officers and violates democratic values.”
In the letter written by Shekhar, he said, “The Association expects public representatives to use restrained and dignified language. Caste-based statements or any kind of disrespect against an officer are unacceptable and not in keeping with democratic values. The MP IPS Association strongly condemns the words used by the MLA and demands appropriate action.”
On April 16, another video of Dinesh Lodhi surfaced, in which he claimed he was honking and blamed the victims for not driving properly.
Congress targets BJP
Congress state president Jeetu Patwari criticized the incident and said in X
“The public that has been revering the BJP for the past 20 years is now being trampled by the son of a BJP military member, while the PLA itself is challenging the police officers. The BJP’s true tactics, character, and face are being exposed before the common people.”
Patwari demanded action against Lodhi for threatening the IPS officer.
In a cautious reaction, a BJP spokesperson said: “We always believe in implementing the law of the land. At the same time, we expect officers and public representatives to maintain morale while speaking and acting publicly.”
