AAP MLA Naresh Yadav
| Photo Credit: ANI
A court in Punjab’s Malerkotla district on Saturday sentenced AAP legislator from Delhi’s Mehrauli Naresh Yadav to two years in prison in a 2016 case of desecration of the Koran. The development saw Opposition parties in Punjab targeting the ruling AAP and alleging that the verdict “exposed the real face” of the party.
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Parminder Singh Grewal had convicted Yadav in the case on Friday and pronounced the verdict on Saturday. A fine of ₹11,000 was also imposed on Yadav, who appeared before the court when the sentence was pronounced. The court upheld the two-year sentence of two others — Vijay Kumar and Gaurav Kumar — and acquittal of another accused, Nand Kishore, by a lower court.
The AAP MLA has been convicted under Sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
On June 24, 2016, torn pages of the Koran were found scattered on a road in Malerkotla. This led to violence and burning of vehicles by an angry mob. Four persons, including the AAP MLA, were arrested in the case. Initially, the police had booked Vijay, Gaurav, and Kishore. Later, based on the statement of an accused during interrogation, Yadav was arrested in the case.
In March 2021, Yadav and Kishore were acquitted in the sacrilege case by a lower court, while Vijay and Gaurav were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. However, complainant Mohammad Ashraf had filed an appeal against the acquittal.
‘Deep-rooted conspiracy’
Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa said AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal promised justice in sacrilege cases, but his own MLA has been convicted. “AAP, which claimed the moral high ground, stands exposed. Instead of healing Punjab, they’ve fuelled unrest. CM Bhagwant Mann’s silence is telling,” he said in a post on X.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) said the conviction exposed “the real face of AAP”. “It has proved our allegations that serial incidents of sacrilege in Punjab are part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to disturb peace and communal harmony and to get political mileage out of it…. the truth has prevailed. Now, Arvind Kejriwal must tell the country why his party MLA indulged in such a heinous crime,” said senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema.
The BJP’s State unit said in a post on X: “Bhagwant Mann, Arvind Kejriwal, and AAP Punjab must answer for their lies and divisive politics. Conviction of AAP MLA proves AAP’s role in communal tensions. Shameful betrayal of Punjab’s harmony. Punjab will never forgive this.”
Published – December 01, 2024 01:25 am IST
