Activist Sangita Pandey secured bail in Indore, while her husband remains in judicial custody following their arrest during a sit-in.
The couple protested outside Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya's residence over his alleged derogatory remarks directed at protesting students.
The incident has triggered a fierce political dispute and threats of legal action between the BJP and Congress in the State Assembly.
Activist Sangita Pandey was granted bail by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) court in Indore on Friday, while her husband and fellow activist Prahlad Pandey remains in judicial custody following their arrest during a demonstration.
The couple was detained on July 23 after staging a sit-in near Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya’s Nanda Nagar residence. The protest was triggered by allegations that the Minister referred to demonstrating students in New Delhi as "insects" during a State Assembly address on July 21, while he was attending the monsoon session in Bhopal.
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 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, according to The Hindu.
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.
Mr. 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.”
Mr. Singhar later alleged that Mr. Vijayvargiya had used the word “cockroaches” to describe the protesting students.
“Whether it’s ‘insect’ or ‘cockroach’. In rural parts, a cockroach is also called an ‘insect’ in the country language. If Kailash Vijayvargiya uses the word ‘cockroach’ in the House and talks about anarchy in the nation, this means you are directly accusing the youth of sedition. This is an insult to the youth and Kailash ji should apologise for it,” the Congress leader said.
Following the controversy, Malkhan Singh Thakur, BJP’s Bhopal district legal wing coordinator, has also filed a complaint with the local police seeking legal action against Mr. Singhar, reported The Hindu.
