Former MP Ashok Singh Chandel Jailed For Five Years

Hamirpur, July 25 (TNA) The MP-MLA court sentenced the former MP to five years in jail. Along with this, a fine of eight thousand rupees has also been imposed. The former MP is currently lodged in Agra jail. Chandel is serving life sentence in the famous 17-year-old mass murder case of Hamirpur.

In 2007, Pappu Kushwaha, a resident of Ramedi Mohalla of Hamirpur, had filed a case of kidnapping and assault against eight people, including Ashok Singh Chandel, at Sadar Kotwali. This incident took place on 27 November 2006. At that time there was SP government in the state and Ashok Singh Chandel was the MLA from SP from Hamirpur assembly constituency.

After the formation of the BSP government in the state in the year 2007, special counters were opened for registering FIRs in old cases, in which a case was registered against Ashok Singh Chandel. Prosecuting officer Vikas Kumar said on Monday that MPMLA Court Judge Seema Kumari convicted Ashok Singh Chandel under sections 365, 341, 323, 506, 149 and sentenced him to five years rigorous imprisonment in section 365, while imposing a fine of eight and a half thousand rupees.

On the evening of January 26, 1997, BJP leader Rajiv Shukla's elder brother Rajesh Shukla, Rakesh Shukla, innocent nephew Gudda, Shrikant Pandey and Ved Prakash were gunned down in Hamirpur here. Others including Rajeev Shukla and Ravikant were injured in the incident. A case was registered against all the people including former Ashok Singh Chandel, liquor baron Raghuveer Singh, Dabbu Singh regarding this massacre. The accused Jhandu Singh Arakh had died during the trial in the court.

On April 19, 2019, a double bench of the High Court sentenced nine convicts, including former MP Ashok Singh Chandel, to life imprisonment in the case of mass murder of five people in Subhash Bazar of Hamirpur city. All the accused went to jail after the non-bailable warrants were issued after the conviction. Last year, the Supreme Court's triple bench had upheld the life sentence of other convicts, including the former MP. Last year, convict Raghuveer Singh has also died.