Akhlaq lynching: Court convicts BJP leader Sangeet Som for violating govt order

Former BJP MLA Sangeet Som has been found guilty of defying a government order following Mohammad Akhlaq's lynching in 2015 by a district court in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddha Nagar district.

The court has imposed Rs 800 fine on him.

The former Sardhana MLA reportedly delivered an objectionable speech at Bisahda, where section 144 (prohibits public gatherings) was imposed after Akhlaq's killing.

On September 28, 2015, 51-year-old Mohammed Akhlaq was dragged from his house and killed by a mob of 200 people on suspicion of eating beef, triggering communal tension in Bisada village.

Som had recently created a controversy by alleging that the population of only a particular community is increasing and the Rajput community would need to take up arms in future to stop "Sar Tan Se Juda" (beheading) and terrorism threats.

Both the comments were aimed at the Muslim community, which is the largest minority group in the state.

The former MLA, known for his controversial remarks, had also targeted the Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Kerala and alleged that only green flags were hoisted in the yatra, and hardly any national flag was used in it.

“Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (2) of the Surajpur court Pradeep Kumar Kushwaha on Wednesday found him (Som) guilty under IPC 188 for violating CrPC Section 144 and imposed a penalty of Rs 800 on him,” Assistant Prosecution Officer Premlata Yadav told PTI.  She said the CrPC 144, which prohibits the assembly of four or more people in an area, was imposed in Bisahda village following the Akhlaq incident.

The 52-year-old Akhlaq, a resident of Bisahda village in Dadri area of Gautam Buddh Nagar, was lynched to death on September 28, 2015 by a mob allegedly over suspicion that he had stored beef in his house.