A court in Uttar Pradesh has convicted Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sangeet Som for violating prohibitory rules following Mohammad Akhlaq’s lynching in 2015, Live Law reported on Friday. As a punishment, the court has imposed a fine of Rs 800 on him.
On September 28, 2015, a mob killed Akhlaq in Bisada village in Gautam Buddh Nagar on the suspicion that he had stored beef. Villagers had accused Akhlaq of stealing and slaughtering a calf for Eid. Later, an announcement was allegedly made from the local temple’s public address system to gather a mob, which then proceeded to Akhlaq’s home, where he was lynched.
At the time, Som had violated Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure that was imposed by the local administration in the village to prevent communal disharmony. Section 144 prohibits the assembly of four or more persons in an area, but Som had addressed a public meeting while the restrictions were still in place.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of the Surajpur court Pradeep Kumar Kushwaha on Wednesday found Som guilty under Section 188 (disobedience to order) of the Indian Penal Code for violating the rules.
Meanwhile, Akhlaq’s lynching case is being heard by a fast-track court in Uttar Pradesh.
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