By Satinder Bains
CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has suffered another setback to its image after Manjinder Singh Lalpura, MLA from Khadoor Sahib, was sentenced to four years in prison in a 2013 molestation and assault case involving a Dalit woman.
Additional Sessions Judge Prem Kumar of Tarn Taran pronounced the sentence on Friday. Lalpura had been convicted on September 10 and was immediately taken into custody. The case, registered under Sections 323, 324, and 354 of the IPC along with provisions of the SC/ST Act, involved a total of 12 accused. Of them, seven have been arrested, one is deceased, one is already in Tihar Jail, and three remain absconding.
The victim, who faced a prolonged legal struggle, expressed satisfaction with the verdict. She alleged that during a 2013 wedding function in Tarn Taran, she was beaten by local police and molested by Lalpura, who at that time worked as a taxi driver.
The ruling has dealt another blow to AAP’s claim of being “a party with a difference.” Several of its legislators are already facing serious criminal charges. Just days earlier, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, MLA from Sanaur, was booked for rape and cheating before escaping police custody in Karnal, Haryana.
In June this year, Jalandhar (Central) MLA Raman Arora was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau in a corruption case involving a municipal corporation official. Earlier, in February 2023, Bathinda (Rural) MLA Amit Rattan Kotfatta was also arrested in a graft case. Soon after AAP came to power in 2022, then Health Minister and Mansa MLA Vijay Singla was dismissed and jailed on corruption charges.
The string of cases has cast a shadow over AAP’s governance credentials, raising questions about its choice of candidates and weakening its moral high ground in Punjab politics.