In what seems to be the first time in political history, a sitting MP has been found guilty of bribing voters during the general elections of 2019.
The incident took place after Telangana Rastra Samithi (TRS)’s Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Kavitha Maloth and her aide were convicted on Saturday for bribing. The case was heard in a special sessions court for MP and MLA cases in Nampally, Hyderabad.
While The Mahbubabad MP has been named as the second accused, her associate, Shaukat Ali, is the first accused by the police who had found him red-handed. Both have been slapped with a fine of Rs 10,000 each and jail for 6 months. However, they have been granted bail by the court to appeal in a higher court over the matter.
According to reports, Kavitha is going to approach the High Court.
The matter was brought to light after a flying team found Ali distributing Rs 500 to people in the parliamentary seat. Soon after, a case was registered in the Burgampahad police station limits. Upon interrogation, Ali confessed to the crime and said that the money was given to him by Kavitha for the deed, leading the cops to the MP.
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The police had produced reports of the flying squad and its officials during the trial to prove the role of Ali and Kavitha in the case. As the former was caught red handed first, he was named the first accused while the latter was termed the second accused.
Though this is the first time when an MP has been convicted of bribing voters, this isn’t the only instance of finding politicians and leaders guilty of crimes. The special sessions court, which heard MP Kavitha’s case on Saturday, was formed in March 2018 with the motive of expediting criminal cases filed against elected representatives.
Till now, Raja Singh, a BJP MLA from Hyderabad, has been convicted for assaulting a police officer. The case was filed in the Bolaram police station. Another MLA Danam Nagendra of TRA was booked in Banjara Hills police station for provoking an aide to assault a government official in service.
