In a decisive ruling, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Panipat has sentenced former MP Dhananjay Singh and his associate Santosh Vikram to seven years of imprisonment in connection with the kidnapping of Abhinav Singhal, the project manager of Namami Gange, four years ago. The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 on each of them, rendering Singh ineligible to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The verdict, delivered by Additional Sessions Judge Sharad Kumar Tripathi, came after both accused were found guilty of kidnapping and extortion. The court had previously fixed March 6 for the sentencing hearing following their conviction on Tuesday.
Singh and Vikram were sentenced under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including life imprisonment or ten years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping, ten years and a fine for extortion, along with additional penalties for conspiracy, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, and criminal intimidation.
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The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Muzaffarnagar resident Abhinav Singhal on May 10, 2020, alleging that Singh and his accomplice Vikram had kidnapped him and demanded extortion while threatening him at gunpoint to supply substandard materials to his firm. Singhal managed to escape and lodged a complaint at the Line Bazaar police station.
Singh, who was arrested from his residence following the complaint, claimed that he was framed in a conspiracy by a state minister and the superintendent of police. His initial bail application was rejected by the local court, but he later secured bail from the High Court. The case, initially heard by the MP/MLA court, was transferred to the district court following a High Court directive.
