BJP MP from Etawah gets 2 years' jail for thrashing power firm staff in 2011
Agra, Aug 5: An local court on Saturday sentenced BJP MP Ram Shankar Katheria to two years' jail for thrashing staff of a private power firm in 2011.
The former Minister of State for Human Resource Development was also levied with a fine of Rs 50,000.
The lawmaker from UP's Etawah was booked for thrashing officials and staff of Torrent Power Limited in Agra in 2011, when the state was governed by the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Katheria was booked at Hariparwat Police Station in Agra under section 147 (riots) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt to people).
On Saturday, Special Magistrate MP/MLA Court Anuj held Katheria guilty of the charges he was accused of and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment.
Talking to reporters after the judgment, Katheria said, "I respect the court order, but I will use my right to appeal in the higher court."
Recounting the incident that took place on November 16, 2011, Katheria said, "It was a matter related to an SC woman, who irons clothes on the Shamsabad road in Agra. She had complained to me about getting excessive electricity bill from Torrent."
"One day the woman came to my office and threatened to commit suicide in regard of the excessive bill case," he said.
The MP said that after he heard the woman's complaint, he approached the Torrent office and asked officials there to reconsider the bills.
"In 2011, it was BSP's government in Uttar Pradesh and many fake cases were registered against me. However, I have full respect for the court," he said.
Ram Shankar Katheria, contested from Agra Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and won. He again won in 2014 and was made MoS HRD. He stayed in that post from November 2014 till 2016.
He was also appointed the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes.
In 2019, he was denied a ticket from Agra Lok Sabha seat and was asked to contest from Etawah, from where he again won.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
