Kalpnath Rai jailed for 10 years
Former Union minister Kalpnath Rai, MP, was sentenced to 10
years in prison with a fine of Rs 1 million by the designated
Terrorist And Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court in Delhi
on Monday.
He was convicted for the crime of harbouring members of
the Dawood Ibrahim gang. Nine others were also sentenced to varying
jail terms in the same case.
Additional Sessions Judge S N Dhingra, however, acquitted former
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brij Bhushan Saran Singh for lack of
evidence.
Rai was immediately taken into custody and sent to the capital's
Tihar Jail on the judge's direction.
He was arrested in the court room itself by the Delhi police and
handed over to the jail authorities.
Others who were convicted included Rai's private
secretary S P Rai, two officials of the erstwhile East West Airlines
-- Sabu Chacko and Pir Mohammed -- and six members of the Dawood
gang -- Subhash Singh Thakur, Jayendra 'Bhai' Thakur, Shyam Kishore
Garikapatti, Mohammed Ahmed Mansoor, Chandrakant Anna Patil and
Paresh Mohan Desai.
The judge pronounced the jail sentence for Kalpnath
Rai, Subhash Singh Thakur, Jayendra Thakur, Shyam Garikapatti,
Chandrakanta Patil and Paresh Desai -- and will hear
the arguments on sentencing the other four -- S P Rai, Mohammed
Ahmed Mansoor and the two former airline employees -- on March
19.
Judge Dhingra sentenced three members of the Dawood Ibrahim gang, who fled
to Delhi after a shootout at Bombay's JJ Hospital in September 1992, to
life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 million each.
The three -- Subhash Singh Thakur, Jayendra Thakur and Shyam Garikapatti --
were ordered to undergo a further imprisonment
of two years if they failed to pay up the fine.
The three were also convicted under one more section of TADA and
sentenced to five years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 each.
They were also convicted under the Arms Act and sentenced to three
years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 each.
In case of default on the fine, the three would serve an additional
six months, Judge Dhingra ruled.
The court sentenced Chandrakanta Patil -- a hitman for the gang -- to six years
imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500,000.
As for Paresh Desai, Judge Dhingra said he had already
served the sentence as an undertrial in judicial custody.
However, the court imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Desai and said
that in case of non-payment, he would serve a sentence of three
months in custody.
According to the CBI chargesheet, Kalpnath Rai, the then federal
power minister, had through his assistant S P Rai arranged accommodation
for Subhash Thakur and V N Rai (Rai's nephew) at the guest houses
of the National Thermal Power Corporation in Delhi and Bombay
Suburban Electricity Supply at Bombay around the time of
the shootout at the JJ Hospital.
Six of Dawood's hitmen, all of whom were convicted, were involved
in the shootout. Five of them were arrested by the Delhi police
in July 1993; Mohammad Ahmed Mansoor was arrested later.
The bills for the NTPC rooms were paid by the corporation
itself. These rooms were booked for the period June 22 to October
3, 1992.
The TADA court had framed charges against Kalpnath Rai and Brij
Bhushan Sharan Singh on May 24, 1996, for harbouring the
gangsters.
Rai, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on
February 12, 1996, was released on bail following orders of the Supreme
Court on May 6, 1996.
Earlier Stories:
Kalpnath Rai: The minister who shot his mouth off and in his foot
Kalpnath Rai denies Dawood connection, says charges are politically motivated
Kalpnath Rai arrested; BJP MP surrenders
Kalpnath Rai's custody extended till March 19
Angry with Rao, Kalpnath Rai threatens to commit suicide
Kalpnath Rai's bail plea rejected by court
Rai spits fire and brimstone at Rao
Kalpnath Rai continues his campaign against Narasimha Rao
'I will expose Narasimha Rao:' Kalpnath Rai
Kalpnath Rai quits Congress
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