Ex UP Congress MLC, 4 Others Get Bail In Protest Against Smriti Irani Case

The local MP-MLA court in Sultanpur granted bail on Monday to five individuals, including former Congress MLC Deepak Singh, in connection with charges related to a protest against former Union minister Smriti Irani and road blockade in Gauriganj.

Special Public Prosecutor Vaibhav Pandey said the protest, led by Deepak Singh, was staged on July 29, 2022, in response to a heated debate between former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Ms Irani.

Mr Singh and hundreds of supporters blocked the Raebareli-Sultanpur road at the Sabji Mandi Tiraha in Gauriganj and burned an effigy of the then Union minister. The protesters were also charged with violating Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code.

Mr Pandey said Deepak Singh, Manoj Kashyap, Sadashiv, Akhilesh Mishra and Yogendra Pratap alias Rohit Singh surrendered before the MP-MLA court on Monday. They were released on bail after submitting two surety bonds of Rs 20,000 each.

The bail order was issued by Special Judge Shubham Verma of the MP-MLA court.

The case involved 28 people who are accused of burning an effigy of Irani and blocking roads in Gauriganj. The court had previously issued bailable warrants against all the accused.

Mr Pandey said the police had completed the investigation and filed a charge sheet against 28 individuals in court, while the investigation continued against 131 others.

The court had earlier ordered the accused to appear on November 21, 2023.

However, multiple summonses went unanswered, leading to the issuance of arrest warrants.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)