Mandsaur/Bhanpura: BJP leader Manohar Lal Dhakad, who has been in the spotlight for the past six days after an obscene video with a woman on an expressway went viral, has finally been arrested by the police. Dhakad is the husband of a BJP-supported member from District Panchayat Ward No. 8. The video in question is said to have been recorded by CCTV cameras installed on the expressway. The incident took place on May 13.

After the video went viral, the Bhanpura police registered a case against Manohar Lal Dhakad and his female companion under sections 296, 285, and 35 of the Indian Penal Code (possibly under the new criminal code BNS). The police have seized the video evidence.

On Sunday, the police took Dhakad into custody and interrogated him for three hours. Following the questioning, the police took him to the location on the expressway where the incident occurred to better understand the sequence of events. Dhakad’s vehicle was also seized. Mandsaur SP Abhishek Anand stated that Dhakad has been formally served notice, arrested under preventive action, and sent to jail.

A major new development has also come to light. According to reports, employees stationed at the expressway's control room allegedly tried to blackmail Dhakad using the obscene video recorded by CCTV. When Dhakad reportedly refused to pay them, they leaked the video online eight days later.

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Upon receiving media reports about the blackmail attempt, Mandsaur SP Abhishek Anand issued a notice to the NHAI authority, which subsequently removed three control room employees. The SP confirmed that police are gathering information on these employees and will be interrogating them. All staff who were posted in the control room will be issued notices and summoned for questioning. Strict action will be taken against anyone found involved in leaking the video or being complicit in the incident.

The viral video and the scandal have also raised serious questions about public morality. That a person holding a public position was involved in such an act has shocked the entire community. The incident has sparked a political storm, with the Congress party targeting the BJP. Congress leaders even visited the highway and sprinkled Ganga water, claiming it would "purify" the location.

The police are currently conducting a thorough investigation into the entire episode, trying to uncover the motives behind the video’s creation and its circulation, as well as identifying everyone involved.