New Delhi, June 7: A court here on Thursday sentenced extradited gangster Abu Salem to seven years rigorous imprisonment in a 2002 extortion case.

"...the convict is a hardcore criminal (who) indulged in the activities of extending threats and extortion under the fear of death, and he has been previously involved in several cases of similar nature, therefore, he deserves severe punishment of such magnitude that the same should be a lesson for the convict and an alarming lesson for others," Additional Sessions Judge Tarun Sahrawat said. 

The court also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on him.

On May 26, Abu Salem was convicted under Section 387 (putting person in fear of death or of grievous hurt in order to commit extortion) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, but acquitted under charges of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. 

The court has acquitted co-accused Pawan Kumar Mittal alias Raja Bhai, Mohd Ashraf alias Bablu, Majid Khan alias Raju Bhai and Chanchal Mehta in the case. 

According to the prosecution, the gangster demanded money from a Delhi-based businessman and threatened to eliminate his family members if the amount was not paid.

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Indore, May 8: A woman councillor of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh's Indore removed a poster stuck on an autorickshaw encouraging the NOTA option during elections, saying that promotion of this voting option was not in the interest of democracy.

Councillor Sandhya Yadav's act drew the Congress' flak, which approached the Election Commission (EC) and lodged a complaint against her.

The Congress received a jolt in Indore after its candidate Akshay Kumar Bam withdrew his nomination on April 29, the last date of the withdrawal of nominations. Bam later joined the BJP, prompting the Congress to appeal to the people to press the NOTA (none of the above) option during polling in Indore on May 13 to teach the saffron party a lesson.

The Congress lodged a complaint with the EC after a video showing Yadav removing a poster of an organisation named Loktantra Bachao Samiti, asking people to support NOTA, surfaced on social media.

Asserting that she will continue to do so, BJP councillor Yadav told PTI that she fulfilled her "duty of being a conscious citizen" and removed the poster promoting NOTA from an autorickshaw.

She said that promoting this voting option is not in the interest of democracy.

While claiming that angry voters are running the NOTA campaign, state Congress committee general secretary Rakesh Singh Yadav alleged that Sandhya Yadav threatened the autorickshaw driver and forcibly removed the poster promoting the NOTA option from his three-wheeler and during this she was accompanied by some goons.

The Congress functionary said he has filed a complaint to the EC by submitting a video of the incident, urging it to take appropriate steps in this matter.