Former MP Dhananjay Singh and his associate Satish Vikram Singh were handed seven years of imprisonment by the MP-MLA court in Jaunpur on Wednesday in connection with a case involving kidnapping, extortion, and criminal conspiracy, filed with the Line Bazar police station in May 2020.
District government counsel (criminal) Satish Pandey disclosed that Additional District Judge Sharad Kumar Tripathi pronounced the verdict, imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them under Section 364 (kidnapping) and five years of imprisonment with a penalty of Rs 25,000 under Section 386 (extortion by threats).
Additionally, they were sentenced to one and two years of imprisonment under Sections 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation), respectively, with all sentences to be served concurrently.
The court's decision came a day after Dhananjay and his associate were convicted in the case, resulting in the cancellation of their previous bail and their subsequent remand into district jail custody. The courtroom witnessed a substantial gathering of Dhananjay's supporters, prompting tight security measures by the police around the court compound.
The charges against the duo stemmed from a complaint lodged by project manager Abhinav Singhal of a company engaged by UP Jal Nigam for sewage projects, accusing Dhananjay of coercive tactics in connection with a Rs 300 crore sewer project. Singhal alleged repeated threats and intimidation by Dhananjay's associates, including being taken to Dhananjay's residence at gunpoint.
Jaunpur police arrested both individuals from Dhananjay's residence on May 11, 2020, following Singhal's complaint. Despite obtaining bail from the High Court subsequently, they were handed prison sentences by the MP-MLA court.
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