BHOPAL: Illegal sand mining in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh took an ugly turn on Sunday after another audio clip went viral on WhatsApp in which a BJP MLA was heard allegedly demanding money. After three audio clippings rocked social media, police are holding investigations.

Audio clips carry conversations between police, sand mafia and a BJP MLA. In one of them, there is a talk between Bhind BJP MLA Narendra Singh Kushwah and Amrendra Singh Chouhan, a man involved in sand mining.

The MLA was heard demanding money and hurling expletives. There is another clip in which Singh and Kushwah were again heard demanding Rs 1 lakh. The cop in the clip refers to a raid conducted on sand mafia on March 16.

Talking to TOI over phone, Bhind MLA Narendra Kushwah said, "it's a conspiracy to malign my image because I have been raising issue of mining mafia in Bhind in the state assembly. These conversations happed many months back and I was asking Chouhan to return money taken by him from innocent people of the district after making them partners in a mining contract. I am taking legal action against those who are trying to malign me," he said.

On March 17, Amrendra Chouhan and Sanjeev Singh, a BSP leader and son of four-time former BJP MP Ram Lakhan Singh who later joined BSP, lodged a complaint with police about MLA's threat. Superintendent of police, Bhind, Vineet Khanna, said "We have started holding investigations, they are in preliminary stage".

