Kidnapping case: Former MP Dhananjay Singh, aide get seven years’ jail, poll aspirations jolted

Dhananjay Singh, also a two-term former MLA, was keen to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Jaunpur, the seat he represented as Bahujan Samaj Party member from 2009 to 2014. He has said he will move the high court against the judgment

Former MP Dhananjay Singh, who was planning to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Jaunpur, and an aide were sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment by the Jaunpur MP/MLA court on Wednesday in a 2020 kidnapping case of a senior U.P. Jal Nigam official. Under the Representation of the People Act, the sentence makes him ineligible to contest the election.

Former MP Dhananjay Singh is also an ex-MLA. (FILE PHOTO)

Singh, also a two-term former MLA, represented the Jaunpur Lok Sabha seat as a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member from 2009 to 2014.

On Wednesday, he was sentenced in the kidnapping case of UP Jail Nigam project manager, Abhinav Singhal, who was handling the Namami Gange work in Jaunpur, on May 10, 2020.

The complainant, however, had turned hostile in the case after registering an FIR against Dhananjay and Santosh Vikram Singh on May 11, 2020.

The court had convicted Dhananjay Singh and his aide Santosh Vikram Singh in the case on Tuesday based on evidence produced by the police.

“The MP/MLA court of additional district judge-IV Sharad Kumar Tripathi held Dhananjay and Santosh Vikram guilty in the case and awarded seven years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed penalty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 364 for kidnapping,” district government counsel (criminal) Satish Pandey said.

They would have to undergo an extra four months’ imprisonment if they do not pay penalty, Pandey added.

In video of his interaction with the media, the former MP said he will move the high court against the judgment.

Giving details, Pandey said the court awarded five years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed ₹25,000 penalty on each under Indian Penal Code section 386 for extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt, one year imprisonment and ₹10,000 penalty on each under IPC section 504 for insult, two years’ imprisonment and ₹15,000 penalty on each under IPC Section 506 for criminal intimidation and seven years’ rigorous imprisonment and ₹50,000 penalty on each under IPC section 120-B for criminal conspiracy.

All the sentences will run concurrently, which will last as long as seven years, he added.

Dhananjay Singh was elected MLA from Jaunpur’s Rari assembly constituency, now known as Malhani, for the first time as an Independent candidate in 2002. He became MLA from the same seat on the Janata Dal (United) ticket in 2007. He was later elected Bahujan Samaj Party MP from Jaunpur in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections after defeating Samajwadi Party veteran leader Paras Nath Yadav.

His father Raj Deo Singh become MLA from Malhani after Dhananjay vacated the seat. Dhananjay also contested Lok Sabha election from Jaunpur as an Independent candidate in 2014 and received over 64,000 votes.

He was again keen to contest Lok Sabha elections in 2024 and indicated his intent in a social media post last week.His supporters in Jaunpur alleged that this conviction had come as a fallout of his political ambitions. They shouted slogans after announcement of the quantum of punishment.

On May 11, 2020, Abhinav Singhal of Muzaffarnagar, working as Namami Gange project manager in Jaunpur, had filed a complaint against Dhananjay Singh and Santosh Vikram Singh. Singhal alleged that Santosh Vikram, along with two accomplices had kidnapped and taken him to the residence of the former MP. He also alleged that Dhananjay Singh came with a pistol, abused him and mounted pressure on him to supply substandard material. On refusal, he allegedly threatened him and demanded extortion, Singhal alleged. Based on the complaint, the police had registered the FIR against the former MP and his aide. Thereafter, both were arrested and later released on bail.

TIMELINE

May 10, 2020: Project Manager Abhinav Singhal kidnapped and taken to the former MP’s place where he was threatened and abused on gunpoint.

May 11, 2020: The FIR registered at Line Bazar police station of Jaunpur under sections 364 (kidnapping), 386 (extortion), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Dhananjay Singh and his aide.

Aug 5, 2020: Police filed chargesheet against the two accused in the court

Apr 2, 2022: Charges framed during the court proceedings

Mar 5, 2024: Court convicted both the accused.