Indian politicians are rich, famous, powerful and yet tempted to prod the wrong path time and again. Their shadowy activities make headlines at least once in a year. To give them their fifteen minutes of fame (or shame), here is a list of fifteen Indian politicians who went to jail.
Amar Singh
Party: Samajwadi Party
Arrested on: September 6, 2011
Charge: Corruption
Position held: General Secretary & Spokesperson of its parliamentary board, Samajwadi Party
More than his political achievements, it is Amar Singh’s proximity with Bollywood stars that has thrust the Samajwadi party leader into limelight, time and again. The biggest blow for the leader, however, came in the year 2006 when a few of his telephonic conversations with Bollywood stars were tapped and circulated illegally. An angry Amar, moved the court asking for a restraint order against their publication, especially in media. Although, the order was granted initially in 2011, five years after the leakage, Supreme Court got the stay removed. In the taped conversation, Singh was apparently heard discussing bribes and ways of bending government policies to fulfill vested interests. Now that’s what you call in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Sukhram
Party: Indian National Congress
Arrested on: November 18, 2011
Charge: Corruption
Position held: Former Union Telecommunications Minister
‘The love of money is the root of all evil’, here is a saying that fits perfectly with the way the former telecommunications minister in P.V Narsimha Rao cabinet, paid the price for abusing his position to garner money. Sukhram, the man in question, faced the wrath of law when he got convicted for handing a mouthwatering contract to a private telecom company for supplying cables at inflated rates. In exchange of the deal, the former cabinet minister took a whopping Rs 3.15 lakhs as bribe from the company. The deal, according to Court statements, caused a huge loss to the state exchequer. The man in the eye of storm, Sukhram, was handed a five year jail sentence by the Delhi Court.
Shibu Soren
Party: Bharatiya janata Party (BJP)
Arrested on: November 28, 2008
Charge: Murder
Position held: Ex- chief Minister of Jharkhand
Shibu Soren, the former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, became the talk of the nation when court found him guilty in a 12 year old case involving the murder of Shashinath Jha, Soren’s ex-personal secretary. The victim was reportedly kidnapped from the Dhaula Kuan area of Delhi on May, 1994, before being taken to a village near Ranchi. In the chargesheet, it was stated that Jha’s knowledge of the deal between JMM and the congress to protect the Narsimha Rao Government during the 1993 no-confidence motion, prompted the murder. Soren, along with four other men was convicted by the court and held guilty of abduction, criminal conspiracy and murder.
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Party: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
Arrested on: July 30, 1997 and November 28, 2000
Charge: Corruption
Position held: Ex- chief Minister of Bihar, Ex-Union Railway Minister
The name Lalu Prasad Yadav has almost become synonym of corruption.The fodder scam is probably the most infamous of all corruption cases in which Lalu Prasad Yadav has been convicted so far. Lalu was reported to have siphoned off Rs. 950 Crores from the animal husbandry department. The court, on November 28, 2000 remanded Lalu to the judicial custody. The fodder scam together with a disproportionate assets case, has cost Lalu a string of remanding over the next few years.
Kanimozhi
Party: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
Arrested on: May 20, 2011
Charge: Corruption
Position held: Member of Parliament representing Tamil Nadu in Rajya Sabha
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, shocked the nation over her alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum controversy. In November 2001, excerpts of Kanimozhi’s conversations with lobbyist Niiira Radia appeared in a leading magazine. Another magazine alleged Kanimozhi of using her position to help A.Raja, the then minister of communications and information technology during the highly controversial 2G wireless spectrum allocations. On February, 2011 Raja was arrested for his role in tampering with rules to allocate the spectrum to certain companies at inflated rates. Raja’s arrest was followed by an income tax raid on an NGO run by Kanimozhi. Of course, the whole matter was given a political overture by DMK, claiming that opposition parties had a role to play in Raja’s arrest and the subsequent raid on Kanimozhi’s NGO.
Later, the CBI interrogated Kanimozhi regarding the flow of several crores from DB Realty firm to a private Television channel, Kalaignar T.V, in which Kanimozhi is reported to have a certain amount of stake. The CBI interrogation proved to be the stamp of finality on Kanimozhi’s shadowy involvement in the whole 2G spectrum drama. Her name came up in the second charge sheet of the 2G scam filed by the CBI. The poet was sent to Tihar Jail with an immediate effect.
A.Raja
Party: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
Arrested on: 2nd February 2011
Charge: Corruption
Position held: Ex-minister of communication and information technology
The 2G spectrum scandal which took place during A.Raja’s tenure as the minister of communication and information technology, is often considered the biggest political scam in recent history of the country. The allocation of 2G spectrum at throwaway rates, amounted to a loss of $40 billion. It wasn’t until 14th November, 2010 that Raja finally put his papers. The succeeding minister for telecom, Kapil Sibal, appointed a retired judge to investigate the scandal. The CBI raided Raja’s home and offices soon after. The man behind the scandal, along with two others were finally arrested by the CBI on February 2, 2011.
Suresh Kalmadi
Party: Indian National Congress
Arrested on: April 25, 2011
Charge: Corruption
Position held: Member of Parliament from Pune
Suresh Kalmadi’s unsporty affairs have time and again raised furore. He first got into trouble by walking out of the felicitation ceremony of Indian medalists in the 2008 Summer Olympics, on being reportedly refused a seat besides the then Vice-president of India. Next, CBI, upon smelling fish, interrogated the MP from Pune over certain irregularities in the conduct of the QBR in London. And the next thing we knew was Kalmadi’s arrest under section 120B and 420 of the IPC. Kalmadi’s alleged involvement in the scam landed him a ten month long imprisonment.
G. Janardhana Reddy
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
Arrested on: September 5, 2011
Charge: Corruption/ Illegal Mining
Position held: Minister of Tourism, Karnataka
Little did G. Janardhana Reddy know, while rigging the iron ore mining that by doing so, he was actually digging his own grave. All hell broke loose when his name came up in a report published by the Lokayukta of Karnataka on illegal mining activities taking place in and around Bellary. Reddy was reported to have hatched a smart plan where he seamlessly offered protection to unaccounted and unauthorized mining with the help from Government officials at all levels.
Madhu Koda
Party: Independent
Arrested on: 10 October
Charge: Corruption
Position held: Ex-Chief Minister of Jharkhand
Madhu Koda’s wish to earn extra bucks, ended up earning him the ire of law. On 9th October 2009, the ex-Chief minister was charged with laundering a huge amount of money.The total worth of the illegal assets, according to a raid led by the Income Tax Department, amounted to Rs.4000 crores. He was also reported to have delegated a certain share to Maoist factions. The scam resulted in the arrest of Madhu Koda.
Amit Shah
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Arrested on: July 25, 2010
Charge: Murder
Position held: Ex-Home Minister of Gujarat
Amit Shah became the second minister from Gujarat to be arrested when police charged him with the murder of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, a well known criminal. Sohrabuddin, accused of running an extortion racket, got killed by the state police in what was first being claimed as a staged encounter. The victim’s wife and a witness to the kidnap, were also found murdered. Initial investigations indicted a few senior police officers who have been reporting to Shah. It was after the case got transferred to the Supreme Court of India, that the truth finally came to the fore. The Ex-home Minister of Gujarat, doubted of instigating twenty-one fake encounter killings, was arrested.
Maya Kodnani
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Arrested on: April 2009
Charge: Inciting people during riot/ murder, abatement
Position held: Ex-State Minister for Higher Education
Maya Kodnani’s case is a perfect example of the savior turning murderer. The Gynecologist turned minister, was accused of inciting a communal mob that burnt ninety-eight people alive. Ironically, while eye witnesses testified Maya’s role in the Naroda Gam and Naroda Patiya massacres, all that the Gujarat police did was to question the accused and declare that there was no evidence to prove the allegations.
However, Maya’s nightmare truly began when the Supreme court of India ordered a fresh series of investigations into the nine most bloody and heinous cases after the Godhra riots. The special Investigation team set up by the Supreme Court, found several discrepancies in Kodnani’s statements. Sensing trouble, Maya went underground for a while. However, as fate may have it, the Gynecologist was soon arrested by the police and sent to jail.
R. Balakrishna Pillai
Party: Kerela Congress (B)
Arrested on: February 10, 2011
Charge: Corruption
Position held: Minister of State for Transport and Electricity
He misused his power to award contracts for a power project and the law stripped him of all powers, this, in brief, is the story of R. Balakrishna Pillai. The man, who also has a biography written on his life, along with two others was convicted by the Supreme Court of India in the Edamalayar hydro-electric project scandal.
Suresh Jain
Party: Shiv Sena
Arrested on: February 10, 2011
Charge: Corruption/ Criminal Conspiracy
Position held: MLA
In July 2004, BJP first came out with a series of allegations against Suresh Jain, accusing the latter of having links with the convicts in the Jalgaon rape case and demanding his resignation. Almost a decade later, Anna Hazare laid corruption charges against four ministers in the Congress-NCP government, including Suresh Jain. Anna’s fast led to the formation of a one man commission by the then Maharashtra CM Sushil Kumar Shinde. The resultant investigations proved the charges against Jain and two other ministers. The MLA was soon arrested over his alleged connection with the Jalgaon Gharkul Scam.
Jayalalitha
Party: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Khazagham (AIADMK
Arrested on: December 8, 1996
Charge: Corruption
Position held: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
Her silver screen appearances have for years mesmerized audiences down South. However, when the former actress appeared in a corrupt role in real life, it only left people shocked. On December, 1996, Jayalaitha was arrested over her alleged involvement in the Rs 8.53 Crore scam. The controversy hovered around the purchase of several TV sets by the State Government in 1995.
Mohammad Sahabuddin
Party: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD
Arrested on: November 2005
Charge: Criminal Conspiracy, Murder
Position held: Member of Parliament
Sahabuddin’s criminal history goes a long way back.The first case against this RJD leader was filed in the year 1986. Since then, the MP has gone accumulating a “wealth” of criminal records. Over the years, Sahabuddin has dabbled in a variety of criminal activities. From engaging in fire fights with the police forces to kidnapping members of the opposition, name it and the man has done it. He was even debarred from entering the region, he represented in the parliament. In April, 2005, a raid at his home revealed an army of illegal weapons like AK-47. A few of them even had Pakistan ordnance factory markings on them. In the wake of the raid, eight non-bail able warrants were issued against Sahabuddin. Interestingly, the man kept on attending parliament regularly and it took the police three months to arrest him.
