Aam Aadmi Party (APP) MLA from Patiala Dr Balbir Singh and three others were on Monday convicted by a Ropar court for their involvement in an 11-year-old criminal case.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ravi Inder Singh pronounced three-year rigorous imprisonment for Singh, his wife Rupinderjit, son and one other person. The court has also slapped a penalty of Rs 5000 each on them, besides the jail term.
The MLA was, however, permitted bail on the spot. Dr. Balbir Singh, his wife, son and an accomplice were booked by the Ropar police on a complaint filed by his sister-in-law (wife’s sister) Rupinderjit Kaur and her husband Mewa Singh, residents of Chandigarh, on June 13, 2011.
They had alleged that Singh along with other accused, including Rahul and Parminder Singh, attacked them when they were irrigating their fields in Tapparian Dial Singh village near Chamkaur Sahib.
The complainants have also alleged that Dr Balbir Singh and others had been trying to grab their land.
Dr. Balbir Singh is AAP MLA from Patiala (Rural) constituency. In his election affidavit submitted with the Election Commission, had mentioned five criminal cases registered against him.
According to affidavits submitted by AAP candidates before the Election Commission of India (ECI), half of the legislators elected to the 16th Punjab Vidhan Sabha have been earlier booked in various criminal cases, with every fifth MLA facing serious charges, ranging from murder and crime against women to illegal mining and medical negligence.
22 of the 117 members of the new Punjab Assembly elected on March 10 have criminal antecedents other than FIRs registered for violating prohibitory orders while 35 others have first information reports (FIRs) against them for blocking roads during protests or flouting Covid-19 norms or other prohibitory orders imposed by the authorities. All these cases are at various stages of investigation or trial.
The AAP which got an overwhelming mandate by winning 92 seats has the maximum of 19 MLAs with serious cases against them.
