Gujarat: BJP MP sentenced to 3 years for assaulting govt doctor

Ahmedabad, Apr 14: BJP MP Naranbhai Kachhadia was on Wednesday, April 13, sentenced to three years imprisonment by a court in Amreli for assaulting a doctor at a government hospital in 2013.

Judge D R Bhatt also imposed a fine of Rs 35,000 on the two-term MP from Amreli. The court stayed the sentence for a month so as to enable Kachhadia and other convicts to approach the high court against the conviction.

Kachhadia might face disqualification under The Representation of The People Act as per the July 2013 judgement of the Supreme Court.

He and others were accused of beating up Bhimjibhai Dabhi, a doctor at Amreli civil hospital, on January 1, 2013, for refusing to attend to a BJP worker's relative.

Dabhi asked the patient to wait as he was tending to another person. The patient called up Kachhadia who came to the hospital and beat up Dabhi, apart from hurling casteist abuse. Dabhi belongs to a scheduled caste.

A case was registered under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the IPC. The court acquitted the MP of the charge under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, but awarded him three years' imprisonment for 'voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant doing his duty', and 'using force or violence through unlawful assembly'.

Four others -- Kirit Bhamja, Madhu Joshi, Ravi Joshi and the MP's driver were also sentenced to three years's prison term.

PTI