Delhi AAP MLA sentenced to 2 years in jail in 2016 Koran desecration case

AAP MLA Naresh Yadav
| Photograph Credit score: ANI

A courtroom in Punjab’s Malerkotla district on Saturday sentenced AAP legislator from Delhi’s Mehrauli Naresh Yadav to 2 years in jail in a 2016 case of desecration of the Koran. The event noticed Opposition events in Punjab concentrating on the ruling AAP and alleging that the decision “uncovered the true face” of the social gathering.

The courtroom of Further District and Classes Choose Parminder Singh Grewal had convicted Yadav within the case on Friday and pronounced the decision on Saturday. A advantageous of ₹11,000 was additionally imposed on Yadav, who appeared earlier than the courtroom when the sentence was pronounced. The courtroom upheld the two-year sentence of two others — Vijay Kumar and Gaurav Kumar — and acquittal of one other accused, Nand Kishore, by a decrease courtroom.

The AAP MLA has been convicted below Sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts meant to outrage spiritual emotions of any class by insulting its faith or spiritual beliefs), 153A (selling enmity between completely different teams on grounds of faith), and 120B (prison conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

On June 24, 2016, torn pages of the Koran have been discovered scattered on a highway in Malerkotla. This led to violence and burning of automobiles by an indignant mob. 4 individuals, together with the AAP MLA, have been arrested within the case. Initially, the police had booked Vijay, Gaurav, and Kishore. Later, primarily based on the assertion of an accused throughout interrogation, Yadav was arrested within the case.

In March 2021, Yadav and Kishore have been acquitted within the sacrilege case by a decrease courtroom, whereas Vijay and Gaurav have been sentenced to 2 years’ imprisonment. Nevertheless, complainant Mohammad Ashraf had filed an enchantment towards the acquittal.

‘Deep-rooted conspiracy’

Senior Congress chief and Chief of the Opposition in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa mentioned AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal promised justice in sacrilege instances, however his personal MLA has been convicted. “AAP, which claimed the ethical excessive floor, stands uncovered. As an alternative of therapeutic Punjab, they’ve fuelled unrest. CM Bhagwant Mann’s silence is telling,” he mentioned in a publish on X.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) mentioned the conviction uncovered “the true face of AAP”. “It has proved our allegations that serial incidents of sacrilege in Punjab are a part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to disturb peace and communal concord and to get political mileage out of it…. the reality has prevailed. Now, Arvind Kejriwal should inform the nation why his social gathering MLA indulged in such a heinous crime,” mentioned senior SAD chief Daljit Singh Cheema.

The BJP’s State unit mentioned in a publish on X: “Bhagwant Mann, Arvind Kejriwal, and AAP Punjab should reply for his or her lies and divisive politics. Conviction of AAP MLA proves AAP’s function in communal tensions. Shameful betrayal of Punjab’s concord. Punjab won’t ever forgive this.”