AAP MP Sanjay Singh sentenced to 3-month jail over 2001 protest in UP town

Sanjay Singh Sentencing: The MP-MLA court pronounced the judgment in connection with the case that was registered on June 19, 2001. The AAP Rajya Sabha MP said that he will appeal against the sentence in the high court.

Sultanpur: A court in the Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh has sentenced Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh and five others, including former Samajwadi Party MLA Anoop Sanda, to three months in prison in a 21-year-old case. The court also slapped a fine of Rs 1,500 each on them. The MP-MLA court pronounced the judgment in connection with the case that was registered on June 19, 2001.

The AAP Rajya Sabha MP said that he will appeal against the sentence in the high court. 

According to the police, people had blocked the road and staged a massive protest against the then BJP government in Uttar Pradesh led by Rajnath Singh. The protest was against regular power cuts and improper water supply in Sultanpur city.

The police had filed a case against Sanjay Singh, Anoop Sanda, supporters Vijay Kumar, Kamal Srivastava, Santosh Kumar and Subhash for blocking the road and demonstrating, said government counsel Vaibhav Pandey. The case was registered against them under IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly) and 341 (wrongful restraint).

Singh, who was present in the court while the judgment was being pronounced, blamed the then BJP government for mismanagement in the otherwise peaceful protest.