BJP leader Sangeet Som fined Rs 800 by UP court for violating govt orders post-Akhlaq lynching
Noida, Oct 14: A court in Gautam Buddh Nagar has found controversial BJP leader Sangeet Som guilty of violating government orders in the wake of Mohammad Akhlaq's lynching in 2015, officials said on Thursday.
The former BJP MLA has been held guilty under IPC Section 188 (disobedience to orders duly promulgated by government officials) for violating CrPC Section 144 restrictions at Akhlaq's Bisahda village.
"Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (2) of the Surajpur court Pradeep Kumar Kushwaha on Wednesday found him (Som) guilty under IPC 188 for violating CrPC Section 144 and imposed a penalty of Rs 800 on him," Assistant Prosecution Officer Premlata Yadav told PTI.
She said the CrPC 144, which prohibits the assembly of four or more people in an area, was imposed in Bisahda village following the Akhlaq incident.
The 52-year-old Akhlaq, a resident of Bisahda village in Dadri area of Gautam Buddh Nagar, was lynched to death on September 28, 2015 by a mob allegedly over suspicion that he had stored beef in his house.
The lynching case is being heard by a fast-track court here in which the judgment is awaited.
Som has in the past been accused of making inflammatory speeches. He was accused of hate speeches ahead of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots but cleared of charges by a local court after a trial.
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Will vacate one of two assembly seats won in 10 days: BJP''s Suvendu
Kolkata (PTI): BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur and secured Nandigram for three times in a row in the recent assembly polls, said on Wednesday that he would vacate one of the two constituencies within 10 days.
Adhikari also asserted that the party's central leadership would decide which constituency he would retain.
"I will vacate one seat within 10 days. The party will decide which one I retain. I will not forget my responsibility towards the people of Bhabanipur and Nandigram," he said.
Adhikari on Monday defeated Banerjee in Bhabanipur by over 15,000 votes, puncturing what was long seen as her safest political refuge and delivering a decisive psychological blow to the TMC, amid a sweeping BJP surge across West Bengal.
Addressing party workers and supporters in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP leader appealed to them not to take out victory processions immediately and instead maintain peace.
"Do not take out victory rallies now. Maintain peace and discipline. Celebrate after May 9, after taking permission," he told party workers.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday announced that the oath-taking ceremony of the new government will be held on May 9 at Brigade Parade Ground.
Referring to alleged attacks on BJP workers during the TMC regime, Adhikari said he would not forget the “atrocities" faced by them and assured them of taking appropriate action against perpetrators through legal processes.
"I was part of the 2011 ‘poribartan’ (change), and now I am part of the real change. I offer my gratitude to the people of Nandigram," Adhikari said.
He was referring to the TMC's victory in 2011 when the Mamata Banerjee party dismantled the 34-year Left Front regime in the state.
Adhikari offered prayers at a Hanuman statue in Nandigram and remembered the BJP workers, who had died in political violence.
"We will work in such a way that the BJP government in Bengal stays for 100 years," he said, expressing hope that the BJP’s vote share in the state would rise from the current 46 per cent to 60 per cent in future elections.
The BJP leader also assured residents of Nandigram of improved drinking water supply and better hospital and education infrastructure.
