Chaitar Vasava, a MLA of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and others have been convicted of an assault, intimidation and extortion murder case linked to forest officials by a sessions court in Rajpipla, Gujarat. Vasava, who is a member of the Dediapada constituency in Narmada district, was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment.
The case is tied to an incident on October 30, 2023 where the forest authorities had removed alleged illegal cultivation from the government forest lands and had registered a forest offence. The prosecution claims forest officers were then sent to have a meeting with Vasava and a forest officer was in his house and faced abuse, slapping and threatening. Investigators also said a gunman fired in the air to “scare” cops.
The prosecution also said on the next day, the police had to give ₹60,000 at Pitha Ground. An FIR was filed on November 2, 2023, and a charge sheet was filed in January 2024. Prosecution evidence was comprised of 17 witnesses.
Special public prosecutor Amit Nair submitted that the evidence on the record, witness testimony, banking transactions and call log it has submitted adequately proved that the accused were involved in the crime. Based on the prosecution’s submissions, the court convicted the accused.
Vasava’s lawyers had opposed various issues from the trial, such as the recall of witnesses, and the admittance of new defence evidence. The Supreme Court, however, upheld the lower court’s verdict going forward and the Gujarat High Court did the same to get to the end of the trial.
The decision is a big setback in the legal corner for the AAP chief prior to political showdowns in Gujarat.