BJP neta's daughter returns home

Bhopal: Bharti Singh, the daughter of former BJP MLA, Surendranath Singh, returned home on Tuesday after recording her statement in the court of judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) Nandita Dubey, under section 164 of the CrPC. Bharti, however, refused to undergo medical test for suspected sexual assault.

In her statement, she told the court that she had gone to Jabalpur and then Jalgaon in search of a job with one of her male friends and there was no sexual offence committed against her.

Bharti’s disappearance from her home in the previous week had led to a political showdown between Surendranath Singh and his Congress rival from Bhopal Central assembly constituency Arif Masood who defeated Singh in the December 2018 state polls.

Bharti had filed a petition in the high court on Friday seeking protection from his father and kin.

On Monday, she was recovered from Jalgaon and brought to Bhopal and kept at Gauravi one-stop crisis centre. There, she was counselled in the morning during which she remained largely silent. Later, she was produced in court, and after her statement was recorded she was sent back home.

Speaking to TOI, Surendranath Singh expressed happiness over his daughter’s return and said “sab thik ho gaya hai (Everything is alright now)” and he wants to live in peace with her.