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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BJP workers protest Bengaluru event on Umar Khalid, taken into preventive custody
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP workers, led by former Bengaluru Mayor M Gautham Kumar, staged a protest outside the heavily fortified BIC in the city on Tuesday ahead of an event.
The editors of the book “Umar Khalid and His World” have planned a reading of excerpts from the book at the venue, followed by a discussion involving several “historians and intellectuals”.
The BJP activists raised slogans demanding the cancellation of the event. They attempted to enter the venue by breaking through the barricades put up by the police.
Police personnel deployed at the spot took the BJP workers into preventive custody.
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The party had on Monday petitioned Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh seeking cancellation of the event organised in support of activist Umar Khalid.
A delegation of BJP leaders led by Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan met the commissioner and submitted a memorandum in this regard.
Khalid is currently in jail in connection with allegations of conspiracy in the 2020 Delhi riots.
In a post on ‘X’ earlier in the day, the Karnataka BJP alleged that while courts are still hearing cases related to anti-national activities, the Congress-backed ecosystem is busy glorifying individuals who aim to divide Bharat.
“Why is Bengaluru being turned into a hub for celebrating such elements? Is this the ‘cultural contribution’ the Siddaramaiah government wants to promote? Our city is a land of innovators and patriots, not a playground for the ‘Tukde Tukde’ (divisive) narrative,” it alleged.
The Supreme Court on April 20 dismissed Khalid’s plea seeking review of a verdict denying him bail, observing that there are reasonable grounds to believe the allegations against him in connection with the conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.
The court had earlier said there was a prima facie case against Khalid and Sharjeel Imam (another accused) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), noting that prosecution material suggests their involvement in the “planning, mobilisation, and strategic direction” of the riots.
The February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), leaving 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
