New Delhi: Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Bangaru Laxman has been convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the 2001 Tehelka sting case relating to an alleged arms deal and sentenced to four years in jail. As Laxman goes to jail in the Tehelka sting case, IBNLive compiles a list of 10 most high-profile political convicts who recently went to jail in India:
A Raja: Perhaps the most high-profile Tihar inmate, A Raja is a former Union Cabinet Minister and a DMK leader. He is in jail following his arrest in the 2G Spectrum Scam. In Feb 2012, the former Telecom Minister completed one year in jail since his arrest in the high-profile scam. Raja, who was the first one to be arrested in the case on February 2, last year, is languishing behind the bars as he has not yet moved any application for release on bail.
Kanimozhi: DMK leader and M Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi was arrested on May 20, 2011 after the special CBI court in New Delhi ordered her arrest along with Kalaignar TV CEO Sharad Kumar after rejecting their bail pleas. Kanimozhi was sent to Tihar Jail. She later appealed for bail citing that she is a woman and mother of a young boy as reasons. But it got rejected considering the reasons that she belongs to upper echelons of society and enormity of the crime committed which is likely to affect the economy of the country. On November 28, 2011, Kanimozhi was granted bail by the Delhi high court.
B S Yeddyurappa: In a major embarrassment to the BJP, the party's first Chief Minister in South India was jailed after a court rejected his bail plea and ordered his arrest. Yeddyurappa was arrested on October 15, 2011 after a special Lokayukta court charged him in alleged irregularities in denotifying government land. He was shifted to a hospital on October 16 citing chest pains. He returned to jail on October 17 only to get admitted in another hospital the very same evening. He was released after spending 25 days in jail on Nov 8, 2011.
Suresh Kalmadi: After his arrest by the CBI on April 25, 2011 in the Commonwealth Games scam, Suresh Kalmadi found himself amongst some of the most high-profile faces in the country's largest jail. Kalmadi was arrested on charges of cheating, conspiracy and corruption in the award of Games related contracts. He walked out of Tihar in early 2012 after spending nine months in the Delhi prison.
Amar Singh: The Rajya Sabha MP and former Samajwadi Party leader was sent to 13-day judicial custody on Sept 6, 2011 in the cash-for-votes scam. Amar Singh and two other accused - Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Singh Bhagora - have been arrested and sent to judicial custody till September 19. The Tees Hazari Court has given Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh partial relief by granting him interim bail till September 19. He has been given bail on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh and on the condition that he cannot travel abroad.
Sukh Ram: The former Telecom Minister during P V Narasimha Rao's government and Lok Sabha MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh was charged with corruption when the CBI in 1996 seized Rs. 3.6 crores in cash concealed in bags and suitcases from his official residence. The cash was allegedly collected by him committing irregularities in awarding a telecom contract. He was convicted and sentenced to three-year rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court in 2002. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict on Nov 18, 2011 and Sukh Ram was sentenced to five years in jail. He was granted bail earlier this year.
Bibi Jagir Kaur: The former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief was convicted and sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment for the abduction, forced abortion and mysterious death of her teenaged daughter Harpreet Kaur 12 years ago. She was, however, acquitted of murder charge against her. Kaur was first sent to Patiala jail but she sought to be transferred to Kapurthala jail as her native village Begowal was nearby. The request was granted.
Mahipal Maderna: The sacked Rajasthan water resources minister was arrested by the CBI on Dec 3, 2011 for the disappearance of nurse Bhanwari Devi, who allegedly featured in a CD showing Maderna in a compromising position. Bhanwari, 36, had gone missing from Jodhpur’s Bilara area on Sept 1, 2011 following which her husband Amarchand, who is now in jail, had filed a habeas corpus petition in the High Court. After the state government ordered a CBI probe into the case, CBI arrested Mahipal Maderna and Congress MLA Malkhan Singh in December last year for their alleged involvement in the case. Maderna and Singh were shifted outside the Jodhpur jail following government orders. Maderna is lodged in a Jaipur jail now.
Sushanta Ghosh: Ghosh was arrested by the CID in the skeleton recovery case and was in custody since August 11 last year for his alleged complicity in the murder of Ajay Acharya, whose son filed an FIR following discovery of his skeleton from a pit. Seven skeletons were dug out from a pit in a field near Ghosh's ancestral house at Benachapra in West Midnapore district. DNA tests proved that one of the skeletons was that of Acharya. Ghosh was released from Alipore jail in Kolkata on February 7 after the Supreme Court granted him bail.
R Balakrishna Pillai: The 77-year-old seven-time MLA and veteran Kerala Congress (Pillai) leader was sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court in a case of corruption in February 2011, pertaining to awarding of contract for a tunnel of the Edamalayar hydropower project in 1990s when he was Power Minister in the then UDF government. The Kerala Congress (B) leader and former minister was freed on Nov 1, 2011 under the remission granted by the state government on the occasion of state-formation day. Kerala Congress (B) is a partner in the ruling Congress-led UDF.
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