New Delhi: Dr Ram Shankar Katheria, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Etawah constituency in Uttar Pradesh, was on Saturday convicted in a 12-year-old case of Torrent assault case and sentenced to two years of imprisonment.
The MP-MLA court, awarded him two-years jail term along with a fine of Rs 50,000/- for leading the mob in assaulting an officer of Torrent Power company, 12 years ago.
BJP lawmaker from Etawah has also been Minister of State. His conviction casts a show over his Lok Sabha membership as he may cease to be an MP soon.
The law mandates that if an MP or MLA is convicted and jailed for more than 2 years, he will not only lose House membership but will also be barred from contesting elections for next 6 years. The latest instance is of Rahul Gandhi, who got convicted in Modi surname defamation case and was stripped of MP status soon after, though, the Apex Court has stayed his conviction for now.
What happened in 2011 assault?
The case pertains to year 2011 when he was Member of Parliament (MP) from Agra. He & his supporters attacked the manager of an electricity distribution firm after barging into his office, leaving him badly injured.
The incident happened on November 16, 2011 at around 12.10 PM. Torrent Power Limited manager Bhavesh Rasik Lal Shah was hearing & disposing of cases related to electricity theft in his Saket mall office of Agra, when a group of 10-15 people led by local MP Ram Shankar Katheria stormed into the Torrent office, picked up quarrel with Bhavesh Rasik Lal and then brutally attacked him.
Torrent manager Bhavesh Rasik suffered serious injuries in the assault by the local MP & his supporters, following which a police complaint was lodged against the lawmaker.
Katheria to appeal against conviction
Meanwhile, the BJP MP Ram Shankar Katheria, reacting to the 2-year jail term, has said that he respects court’s verdict and he will explore his legal options and appeal against it.
