E-Paper
BJP MP, his aides given 1.5-year jail term in 2008 road rage case
The Bansgaon MP, who jumped the ship from Samajwadi Party (SP) to BJP in 2012, is accused of blocking the BRD Medical College road in Gorakhpur against the arrest of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav in 2008.
GORAKHPUR: Member of Parliament from Bansgaon Lok Sabha seat and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Kamlesh Paswan, along with six of his supporters, has been awarded a jail term of one-and-a-half years by the Gorakhpur-based MP/MLA court in a 2008 road rage case.
Hearing the case on Saturday, chief judicial magistrate Prabhash Tripathi also imposed a fine of ₹2,000 each on the MP and his aides. In its verdict, the court said that if elected representatives start violating laws, it would greatly impact the public.
Besides Paswan, the other men who have been given the jail sentence include -- former MLA Chandresh Paswan, former Block Pramukh Sunil Paswan, senior leader Ram Brich Yadav Mahesh Paswan, and others. Following the judgement, Paswan said that he would challenge the order of the MP/MLA court in a higher court.
The Bansgaon MP, who jumped the ship from Samajwadi Party (SP) to BJP in 2012, is accused of blocking the BRD Medical College road in Gorakhpur against the arrest of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav in 2008. The minister, along with his men, was booked under section 125 of the Representative of the People Act of 1951 and IPC sections 503 (whoever threatens another with any injury to his person, reputation or property) and 153A (offence in any place of worship or any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies).
Notably, the Paswan family has held power in Bansgaon for several years now. Kamlesh Paswan himself is a three-time member of parliament. As per political experts, if the high court upholds the conviction, the leader may not be given the BJP party ticket in the 2024 general elections.
