Srinagar, Aug 30: Former Jammu and Kashmir Congress President Vikar Rasool Wani along with five others has been found guilty by a court. However, Wani reassured his supporters that there was no need to panic as he had already secured bail in the case.
Speaking to Rising Kashmir, he said that in 2012, while representing the All-India Youth Congress during a rally in Uttar Pradesh, they were backing their candidate, Jitendra Yadav.
“It was a mega rally, and due to the large audience, some people were listening to the speech from a nearby Junior High School in Mithepur village of Gulavathi. Officials from the Election Commission of India noticed this and later informed me that a case had been registered against some individuals,” Vikar said.
The Congress leader said that for the past 12 years, they received no summons and no one from the ECI approached them. However, on February 24th of this year, the first warrant was issued, he said.
“The ECI registered a case against 13 people, of which nine, including Yadav, were released by the police after paying a fine,” he said. “The court issued orders against us. We applied for bail in the same court and have appealed to a higher court.”
“I urge my supporters not to be distracted by such matters. Instead, they should focus on winning the elections,” he added.
Earlier, the court sentenced them to five months in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 1000 each.
The case was registered by then Block Development Officer Siyaram Varshney for violating the Model Code of Conduct. It was being heard in the Special MP MLA Court. The court found the charges of violating the Model Code of Conduct to be valid and sentenced Vikar Rasool Wani, Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Sachin, Ikramuddin and Nazim to five months in prison and imposed a fine of one thousand rupees each.
