Ex-Congress MLA, 11 others get 6 month jail for rioting

A court here has sentenced a former Congress legislator of Madhya Pradesh and 11 other leaders and workers of the party to six-month imprisonment for rioting and unlawful assembly.
Virendra Raghuvanshi, who is now in the ruling BJP, and the 11 others, however, were granted bail by the court after their conviction yesterday.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Shailesh Bhadoriya convicted them in the 2011 case and awarded them six-month jail term, Assistant Public Prosecutor Nirmal Agrawal said today.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 500 on each of the convicts, he said, adding all of them were later granted bail.

The court found them guilty under IPC sections 353 (assault to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 147, 148 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly) and 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others).
Raghuvanshi, a former MLA from Shivpuri, is said to be one of the claimants for the BJP ticket for contesting bypoll from Kolaras in adjoining Ashok Nagar district. The bypoll is expected to he held by January-end.

The incident took place on January 30, 2011 when Congress workers, led by Raghuvanshi, staged a protest over some issue during a programme organised to dedicate a hostel building at village Sesai Sadak under Kolaras tehsil.

State minister Narottam Mishra was the chief guest at the programme.
On a complaint by police personnel, a case was lodged against the protesters. It was alleged the agitators hurled stones that resulted in injuries to a policeman.
The other Congress leaders and workers convicted in the case are Kisan Congress district president Suresh Rathkheda, Youth Congress block chief Irshad Pathan, Rajkumar Raghuvanshi, Amit Sharma, Gaurav Sharma, Abdul Rafique, Keshav Dhakad, Rafique Khan, Matacharan Sharma, Ajay Sharma and Sohail Quazi.