Sukhram assaulted outside court complex

Former Telecom Minister Sukhram was today attacked by a man in the Rohini courts complex minutes after the special CBI Judge ordered his arrest to serve a five-year jail term in a corruption case. The assailant identified as Harvinder Singh, however, was swiftly nabbed by the police after being beaten up by some persons accompanying 86-year-old Sukhram, who was the Telecom Minister in the P V Narasimha Rao Cabinet. Eyewitnesses said the assailant, who was not armed, assaulted Sukhram with his hands and legs. The incident occurred shortly after Sukhram, who remained out on bail during the 13-year long trial, was taken into custody. [caption id=“attachment_135108” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Sukhram was the Telecom Minister in the P V Narasimha Rao Cabinet.AFP”] [/caption] Former Telecom Minister Sukhram was today awarded five years imprisonment by a Delhi Court after being convicted of taking Rs three lakhs as bribe to give a lucrative contract to a private firm in 1996. Special CBI Judge R P Pandey also imposed a fine of Rs four lakh on 86-year-old Sukhram, who held the Telecom portfolio in P V Narasimha Rao’s Cabinet. The CBI prosecutor said Sukhram will be taken into custody and sent to jail to serve the punishment as the sentence exceeded a three-year jail term and convicts in these cases are not granted statutory bail. Sukhram was held guilty yesterday under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code(IPC). Various offences under which he has been convicted entail a maximum sentence of 7 years jail term. PTI