India: Former minister gets one year in jail for attacking cop

Bhopal, Jun 20 (PTI) A court here Thursday sentenced BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh minister Harendrajit Singh Babbu to one year's rigorous imprisonment in a two- decade old case of assault on a police constable.

Judge Suresh Singh found Babbu guilty under IPC section 353 (assault to deter public servant from discharge of his duty). The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on him.

He was, however, granted bail after the ruling.

Babbu, then MLA from Jabalpur (West), was accused of abusing and throwing a chair at constable R S Pendre at Gohalpur police station in Jabalpur on June 28, 2000.

The MLA was angry as his vehicle had been seized by the police, the prosecution said.

He was also charged under IPC sections 294 (obscene act) and 147 (rioting), but was acquitted for want of evidence.

Babbu later became a minister in the Uma Bharti-led BJP government.

He will appeal against the ruling, he told reporters.