A local court in Hyderabad sentenced TRS Member of Parliament in Telangana, Maloth Kavitha, to six months imprisonment on charges of bribing voters during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The court for the trial of cases related to MPs and MLAs also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on her. Kavitha is the second accused in the case. The case, which relates to a party worker distributing money, seeking votes in her favour, was registered with Burgampahad police in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district following a complaint by election officials, police said. Kavitha told PTI that she was granted bail and that she would appeal at the high court on the matter. Kavitha Maloth is a Lok Sabha MP representing Mahabubabad parliamentary constituency.
According to the Times of India, Kavitha’s associate Shaukath Ali Khan was the first accused in the case. As the sentence for imprisonment is less than three years, bail was granted and the MP was allowed to appeal the judgment in the high court. Revenue officials who were part of the flying squad that seized the cash that was being distributed for votes testified during the trial. The flying squad had seized Rs 9,400 from Kavitha’s associate Shaukath Ali Khan during the election campaign ahead of the 2019 general elections, in Burgampahad mandal of Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, according to TNIE. The judge convicted them under section 171E of the Indian Penal Code (punishment for bribery).
Earlier in April, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested three people claiming to work with the same MP, in connection with a Rs 1 lakh bribery case. The three accused allegedly demanded a bribe from a Delhi-based builder to get him permission from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The complainant had reportedly told the CBI that one of the accused, claiming to be the Personal Assistant (PA) of MP Kavitha Maloth, threatened to demolish the builder’s illegal construction through his contacts at the MCD. However, MP Kavitha had claimed that she did not know the accused persons, and denied her involvement in the bribery case.
With PTI inputs