SP MLA Irfan Solanki convicted, sentence to be pronounced on June 7

In the verdict, which has been deferred 10 times since March 12, four others, including Irfan’s brother Rizwan Solanki, were also convicted.

KANPUR: Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki, along with four others, was convicted on Monday by the MP-MLA court. Solanki was accused of setting a widow’s house on fire in Jajmau in November 2022.

Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki at an MP/MLA court, who has been convicted in the arson case with his brother and three others, in Kanpur on Monday. (PTI)

His brother Rizwan Solanki, builder Shaukat Ali, and gangsters Israel Attewala and Shareef were also convicted. Two other accused, Haii Ajjan and Mursaleen Khan Bholu, are yet to face trial in the case. Ajjan is currently out on bail.

The quantum of punishment would be declared on June 7, said district government counsel Bhaskar Mishra.

Solanki appeared for the proceedings via video conferencing from Maharajpur jail, while the others were physically present in court. As the verdict was pronounced, Nasim Solanki, wife of Irfan, and other family members collapsed outside the courtroom. Chaos ensued both inside and outside the courtroom, with policemen trying to clear the premises. Heavy security arrangements were made for the court proceedings in this case. The court delivered the conviction around 10 PM.

“All five accused in the arson case have been convicted; the court will read the judgment on June 7,” said Mishra, adding that they were convicted under sections 436, 427, 147, 504, 506, and 323 by additional district judge Satyendra Nath Tripathi.

The Jajmau arson case stemmed from a fire that broke out at the home of Nazir Fatima in Defence Colony, Jajmau, on November 7, 2022. Hearings and arguments in this case concluded in February this year. The prosecution produced 19 witnesses, none of whom turned hostile. Solanki, who has been in jail since 2023, had his bail pleas rejected by both the high court and the Supreme Court.