Narmada: A Sessions Court has convicted AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava, his wife Shakuntala Vasava, and several others in a 2023 case involving the alleged assault and extortion of forest department officials. Additional Sessions Judge A.V. Hirpara pronounced the verdict and sentenced Vasava to seven years in prison.

The case stems from an incident on October 30, 2023, when Vasava allegedly called five forest officials to his residence in Dediapada after they had directed villagers to remove encroachments from forest land. According to the FIR registered at Dediapada Police Station on November 2, 2023, Vasava and his associates allegedly abused the officials, assaulted one of them, and demanded compensation for villagers affected by the anti-encroachment drive.

The prosecution also alleged that Vasava fired a shot in the air using an unlicensed weapon, leading to charges under the Arms Act along with provisions related to rioting, extortion, and obstructing public servants from discharging their duties.

Investigators further claimed that Vasava’s personal assistant contacted forest officials the following day and repeated the demand for compensation. The complaint alleged that one villager had already received money before the officials approached the police.

Those named in the FIR included Shakuntala Vasava, Vasava’s personal assistant Jitendra, villager Ramesh Vasava and his wife, along with several residents of Bogaj village. While some of the accused were arrested shortly after the incident, Chaitar Vasava remained untraceable for several days before surrendering on December 14, 2023. He was later granted bail after being nominated as the AAP candidate from Bharuch for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier this year, on May 27, the Gujarat High Court dismissed Vasava’s plea seeking permission to examine additional defence witnesses, observing that the application appeared to be an attempt to delay the trial. The court noted that similar pleas had already been rejected by lower courts as well as the Supreme Court and held that concerns about the denial of a fair trial were unfounded.

The conviction is being viewed as a significant development for the AAP in Gujarat, particularly in the tribal belt of South Gujarat, where Vasava remains one of the party’s most influential faces. DeshGujara