A court here on Wednesday convicted independent MLA and former Maharashtra Prime Minister Omprakash alias Bachchu Kadu to two years of strict prison for obstructing government work and attempting to assault an official during an agitation in 2017.
Kadu, leader of the Prahar Sanghatana who Eknath Shinde-led government of Maharashtra, subsequently secured bail from the court.
His lawyer said they will appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court.
On July 24, 2017, the Prahar Sanghatana had launched an agitation outside the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) on the issue of not using three percent funds set aside for specially disabled people.
According to the prosecution, Kadu, who led the agitation, abused and tried to punch Nashik Commissioner Abhishek Krishna.
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The NMC administration subsequently filed a complaint against Kadu under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter the officer from fulfilling his duty) and 504 (deliberate insult or provocation) of the Indian Penal Code.
On Wednesday, District Judge VS Kulkarni sentenced Kadu to two years in prison and a fine of Rs 10,000.
Kadu, MLA from Achalpur, reacted to the verdict saying no one was interested in what led him to organize the unrest.
Speaking to reporters on the grounds of the Maharashtra legislature in Mumbai, the MLA said: “I staged the agitation because NMC was not using the funds intended for Divyang people… The inquiry should have been about why the funds are not used.
“We had written letters to the then commissioner, but he never acted. Funds for Divyang people went unused for more than two years,” he claimed.
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