The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Director General of Police (DGP) of Madhya Pradesh to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising three senior IPS officers to probe the controversial remarks made by state minister Vijay Shah against Colonel Sofia Qureshi, a decorated Indian Army officer involved in media briefings during Operation Sindoor.
The apex court ordered that the SIT, to be headed by an officer of Inspector General rank, must be constituted by 10 AM on Tuesday.
The directive comes in response to growing public outrage over Shah’s alleged communal and derogatory remarks. At a political gathering last week, Vijay Shah, a senior BJP leader and minister in the Madhya Pradesh cabinet, stated that while terrorists had killed Hindus and widowed Indian women, Prime Minister Modi retaliated by sending a woman officer — “their sister” — in an army plane to strike back. The minister’s comment was interpreted as a communal and sexist slight against Colonel Qureshi, who is Muslim.
Quoting from the viral video of his speech, Shah said, “They (terrorists) made our sisters widows, so Modiji sent the sisters of their community to strip them and teach them a lesson.” The statement triggered strong backlash across political and civil circles, with many calling it an insult to the armed forces and an attack on India’s pluralistic values.
Facing intense criticism, Vijay Shah released a video apology, saying that if anyone was hurt by his words, he was willing to apologise “ten times” and that he respected Colonel Qureshi more than his own sister. However, the Supreme Court appears to have taken the matter seriously, ordering an impartial investigation through a high-level SIT to assess whether Shah’s remarks violated legal and constitutional norms.
The SIT is expected to independently verify the facts surrounding the speech and determine if any legal action is warranted under hate speech or incitement laws.
