Jawad (Madhya Pradesh): Monday brought bad news for Garapur gram panchayat incumbent sarpanch Pawan Sen, former sarpanch and former BJP district general secretary Sukhlal Sen after the court of judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) sentenced the father-son duo with one-year rigorous imprisonment.
Court of JMFC Sonu Jain also convicted one more Rakesh Sen who was found guilty under Section 325 (voluntarily causes grievous hurt) with Pawan and Shuklal.
With this judgment, Pawan or Sukhlalís dream to contest sarpanch elections during the upcoming three-tier panchayat elections got shattered. Court also slapped a penalty of Rs 1500 on them.
According to information, the trio assaulted one Jagdish Kumawat on May 21, 2014. Later, formers were booked under Section 325 of IPC.
It is noted that in the said case, in August 2016, the three accused were punished with imprisonment till the rising of the court and with a fine of Rs 500. Then, complainant, Jagdish Kumawat challenged the decision in ADJ Court in Javad. Meanwhile, after a more than seven-year-long legal battle, the court finally convicted the accused trio.
Political future of family at stake
As per Madhya Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, anyone punished with sentence of more than six months is considered ineligible to be an office-bearer of the Panchayat for five years after the punishment. Experts claim that Sukhlal Sen a former sarpanch and BJP leader and son Pawan Sen a sarpanch and his brother's dream of becoming a Sarpanch again is in limbo.
