
Two Cong MLAs sentenced to jail for obstructing road in '14
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Jaipur: A Jaipur court Tuesday sentenced two Congress MLAs, Mukesh Bhakar and Manish Yadav, along with seven others, to one-year simple imprisonment for blocking traffic outside Rajasthan University more than a decade ago.
The demonstration, held on Aug 13, 2014, was part of an agitation against inclusion of Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) in the UPSC preliminary exam. It disrupted traffic on JLN Marg outside the university's main gate for about 20 minutes.
Following the sentencing, the court suspended the sentence, giving them a month to appeal the decision.
Additional chief judicial magistrate-19 (ACJM-19), Jaipur Metropolitan First, found all nine accused guilty of unlawful assembly and obstructing a public road.
Those convicted include Ladnun MLA Mukesh Bhakar and Shahpura MLA Manish Yadav, along with Abhishek Chaudhary, who contested from Jhotwara on a Congress ticket. Also convicted are Rajesh Meena, Ravi Kirad alias Ravikant, Wasim Khan, Dron Yadav, Bhanupratap Singh, and Vidhyadhar Meel.
Prosecution officer Kavita Pingolia said police filed a chargesheet in the case on Aug 11, 2016. During the trial, some of the accused argued they were not present at the protest site and their names were not in the original FIR.
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However, prosecution witnesses testified that those chargesheeted were present at the scene, and their testimony remained consistent throughout. The court dismissed the defence's argument that the case was politically motivated, stating that the evidence clearly pointed to the involvement of all nine accused.
During the trial, the prosecution presented four witnesses, all of whom were policemen. To support their statements, the prosecution also submitted documentary evidence.
These included the site map of the incident, a copy of the daily diary entry, and a certified copy of the original FIR.
Under Section 147 of IPC (rioting), each convict was sentenced to one year of simple imprisonment and fined Rs 3,000. If the fine is not paid, they will serve an additional month in jail. Under Section 283 of IPC (causing obstruction in a public way), they were each fined Rs 200, with the alternative of 15 days in jail if unpaid.
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