Activist gets bail, husband remains in jail over protest against M.P. Minister’s ‘remark’
The ACP court in Indore on Friday (July 24, 2026) granted bail to activist Sangita Pandey, whereas her husband and fellow activist Prahlad Pandey continued
The ACP court in Indore on Friday (July 24, 2026) granted bail to activist Sangita Pandey, whereas her husband and fellow activist Prahlad Pandey continued to remain in jail two days after the duo was arrested for staging a demonstration near Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya’s residence over his alleged remarks on the ongoing nationwide student protests. Also read: Jantar Mantar protest updates on July 24, 2026 The Indore-based activists staged a sit-in on Wednesday (July 23, 2026) in front of Mr. Vijayvargiya’s residence in the Nanda Nagar area, accusing him of calling students protesting in New Delhi “insects” during his address in the State Assembly on July 21. At the time, Mr. Vijayvargiya was in Bhopal for the monsoon session of the Assembly. The scenes outside the Cabinet Minister’s family residence had turned chaotic after the local police tried to remove them from the sit-in, with videos also showing some officers disrupting his conversation with the media persons.
A viral video shows Mr. Pandey telling reporters that he has come to question Mr. Vijayvargiya on three points. After that, an officer interrupts the conversation and refuses to let him speak, leading to an altercation between the police and the media. Following this, Mr. and Ms. Pandey sat on the road. Speaking to The Hindu, Indore Zone 2 DCP Aman Singh Rathore said the activist duo had been taken into custody under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita on Wednesday (July 23, 2026) and that an FIR was later registered against them under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Pardeshipura police station. The duo was produced before a court on the same day and sent to judicial custody. “They were taken into custody for protesting without prior permission in the Nanda Nagar area. However, the FIR does not mention any political leader’s residence at the location.
Today [Friday] evening, Sangita Pandey was granted bail by the ACP court,” Mr. Rathore said. The allegation about “insect” remarks was made by Congress’ Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Umang Singhar, with party MLAs also staging a demonstration on the Assembly premises on July 21, seeking an apology from Mr. Vijayvargiya. This led to a controversy in the State and a war of words between BJP and Congress leaders inside and outside the House. However, Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar on July 22 said that he had checked the Assembly proceedings records and that Mr. Vijayvargiya had not used the term. Vijayvargiya had also said, “I did not say it. Whatever allegations he (Mr. Singhar) has made are baseless. He tried to tarnish my image in the minds of students studying in Indore. I will also talk to my lawyers and consider a defamation case.” Singhar later alleged that Mr. Vijayvargiya had used the word “cockroaches” to describe the protesting students.
The BriefWire