The Madhya Pradesh government has appointed Adarsh Katiyar, a 1992 batch IPS officer, as the new chief of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the high-profile honey trap case that rocked the state in 2019. Katiyar, who was earlier serving as the Additional Director General (ADG) of Intelligence, has taken charge as the SIT head on Friday. He is currently also holding the post of ADG Telecom
The honey trap case involves a gang of five women and a man who allegedly lured and blackmailed several politicians and bureaucrats by secretly recording their sexual activities. The SIT has seized over 1,000 clips of sex chats, explicit videos and audios from the accused's computers and mobile phones³. The case came to light in September 2019, when an engineer with the Indore Municipal Corporation lodged a complaint against the gang
The appointment of Katiyar as the new SIT chief has sparked speculations in the political circles, as he is known to be a close aide of former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Some sources claim that Katiyar's entry may lead to a new twist in the case, as he may expose the involvement of some influential people from the ruling Congress party². However, the government has denied any political motive behind the decision and said that Katiyar was chosen for his expertise and experience in handling sensitive cases