Cong’s Datia MLA gets 3 yrs in jail in cheating, fraud case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday sentenced Congress' Datia MLA Rajendra Bharti and co-accused Raghuvir Sharan Prajapati to three years of simple imprisonment in a document forgery and bank fraud case, a day after finding them guilty of conspiring to cheat a cooperative bank while holding positions of responsibility. The court also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh each on both the convicts, which it said will be used as compensation for the bank. The defence submitted that Bharti is a "sitting MLA and he is presently third time MLA who is responsible for discharge of his public functions," and also highlighted that he is a heart patient who recently underwent treatment in a Delhi hospital. For Prajapati, the defence stressed his age. The court then went on to suspend the sentence for two months, during which time both the convicts can file an appeal against the judgment in an appellate court. The case centres on a 1998 fixed deposit opened in the name of Bharti's mother, Savitri Shyam, where complainant Zila Sahkari Krishi Aur Gramin Vikas Bank alleged that the accused conspired to alter bank records to extend the deposit tenure from three years to 15 years to unlawfully draw higher interest on a fixed deposit of Rs 10 lakh in his mother's name. The verdict has caused an uproar in the state's politics. The MP unit of the party said it will challenge the order in the high court. Two months before the Rajya Sabha elections in the state, MP Congress, which is contesting one out of three Upper House seats, is in no mood to lose another crucial vote. Party sources said that Congress' Rajya Sabha MP and eminent lawyer Vivek Tankha is being approached to file an appeal against the order in the high court. Bharti, who defeated former home minister Narottam Mishra in the 2023 assembly elections, was convicted and sent to Tihar jail on Wednesday. With three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh up for election in June-July, the Congress will legally fight the battle for Bharti's membership in the House and voting rights. The party, which has 64 MLAs in the state assembly, has already lost two MLAs' voting rights. Last month, voting rights of Congress MLA from Vijaypur assembly constituency Mukesh Malhotra, who defeated another BJP minister Ram Niwas Rawat in a bypoll in Nov 2024, had been suspended after an HC order on his poll affidavit. Another Congress MLA from Bina seat Nirmala Sapre joined the BJP during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections but has not been given primary membership by the ruling party to date. Technically, she remains a Congress MLA, though she attends BJP's functions. Her anti-defection case is now before the HC. State Congress president Jitu Patwari said, "This is a planned conspiracy by the BJP to attack the basic principles of democracy and harass opposition party MLAs and elected representatives. Congress is taking this issue seriously and will have top Supreme Court lawyers to fight the case." (With inputs from Suchandana Gupta in Bhopal)