The district sessions court in Kavaratti (Lakshadweep) on Wednesday sentenced the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP from Lakshadweep Mohammad Faizal and three others to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment in connection with an attempt to murder case filed in 2009.
The court has also suspended the bail of MP and other accused and they will be taken to Kerala’s Kannur central jail later in the day. Since the island has a small detention centre the court ordered police to shift all four to one of the central jails in Kerala.
According to prosecution, the MP had allegedly led a group of people to attack Congress leader Mohammad Saliah, son-in-law of former Union minister P M Sayeed, after an altercation and critically injured him. Later, an attempt to murder case was registered against Faizal and others under the Indian Penal Code. Injured critically, Saliah was later flown to Kerala and underwent treatment for many months in a private hospital.
There were 32 accused in the case and first four were convicted, the MP was second accused in the case. Though the counsel for accused insisted that it was a minor scuffle, the judge rejected their contention citing medical reports and long hospitalisation of the victim. The clash took place during the Lok Sabha election in 2009.
Before courting arrest the MP said “the case was politically-motivated” and he “did not expect such a harsh sentence” also. People close to him said an appeal will be filed in Kerala high court, which has jurisdiction over the group of islands, on Thursday. The MP was on the forefront of recent agitations in island over changes brought in by administrator Praful Khoda Patel. This was the highest sentence in the island in recent past, one of the people quoted above said.All convicts were air-lifted to Kannur jail in north Kerala this evening and their appeal will come up before HC tomorrow.
If the high court refuses to stay the verdict, the MP will automatically lose his Parliament seat, said a senior lawyer, requesting anonymity. If a sentence in a case is more than two years, the people’s representatives will lose their seats, the lawyer said.
Last year, the island had witnessed protest over new regulations brought in by administrator Patel, saying they will affect the unique culture and tradition of the island.
They opposed the move to make the island a major tourist destination, ban on cattle slaughter, two-child norm for local body members, liquor licence, goonda law and other new rules. But the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from the island at that time had said that some “vested interests were stoking fire” and provoking local people to stall the developmental projects in the island.