Chandigarh, March 16: Former Punjab MLA Jasbir Singh “Jassi” Khangura has been sentenced to two years in prison for his involvement in an assault on a polling official during the 2008 elections. The ruling, delivered by Additional Sessions Judge Barinder Singh Romana, overturns a previous judicial decision from 2017 that had cleared the former lawmaker of the charges.
The court declared that the evidence supported the allegations of physical assault brought forward by Faqir Singh, a presiding officer during the local body polls. According to the case files, the official was targeted while transporting ballot boxes to a designated deposit center in Dehlon. The complainant declared that Khangura led a group of 20 to 25 supporters who blocked his path and physically assaulted him.
“The attackers slapped and punched the complainant and removed his turban,” the prosecution maintained during the proceedings. Medical examinations conducted at the Civil Hospital in Dehlon and Ludhiana confirmed multiple injuries, including trauma to the nose and eye. While the court found Khangura and co-accused Gurpreet Singh guilty, it affirmed the acquittal of several other individuals, noting a lack of evidence to link them directly to the violence.
The convicts have asserted their intent to appeal the judgment in the High Court and were granted bail following the pronouncement. The court maintained that the fine of Rs 3,000 imposed on each convict was settled during the hearing.
Observers noted that the case has spent nearly two decades in the legal system before reaching this conviction. The administration stated that the proceedings highlight the judiciary’s commitment to addressing election-related misconduct, regardless of the time elapsed since the incident.
