Bhopal:
Bhag Chand, a travel agency owner in Bhopal who had filmed Bajrang Dal leader and business rival Sushil Sodale extorting money from him, is now dead. Bhag Chand was brutally beaten up on Saturday for giving the clip to the media; he succumbed to the injuries on Thursday.
The businessman had exposed an extortion racket run by the Bajrang Dal leader in a mobile phone sting operation.
Here is the excerpt of the conversation taped by Bhag Chand:
Sushi Sodale: You have to pay Rs. 1,500 every day
Bhag Chand: That comes up to Rs. 45,000 a month. How will I manage? It's Rs. 1900 (takes out the money). I will pay the balance tomorrow.
Sushi Sodale: You are paying because I don't need anybody for help, but you guys need me.
The police that has a copy of this clip has charged five Bajrang Dal men with murder but not Sodale, saying there is no evidence that he was at the scene of the crime.
Sodale is absconding.
"Sushil Sodale's name is there in the FIR. It says the fight started on Sodale's orders. The video CD is also being taken into account," said Adarsh Katiyar, SSP, Bhopal.
Sodale is a known extortionist in Bhopal who took moral policing to brutal lengths. Bhag Chand's family says he repeatedly went to the police with complaints against Sodale but nothing came of it.
The wife says she has no hope for justice.