Ranchi, Oct 15 (PTI) The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday stayed the conviction of former MLA Mamta Devi in a criminal case of 2016, clearing the decks for the Congress leader to contest the assembly elections next month.
A Ramgarh court in December 2022 sentenced Devi and several others to five years of rigorous imprisonment on the charge of inciting a mob to violently protest inside a private industrial unit over land acquisition issues.
Two persons were killed after agitators fired and the police retaliated during a protest at Integrate Power Limited at Gola in Ramgarh district.
She challenged her conviction in the high court and was out on bail.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi stayed the operation of the order of conviction passed against Mamta Devi.
Now, she would be able to contest the assembly elections to be held in November.
The plant at Gola was commissioned in 2014 and designed to generate 63 MW of energy in the first phase.
The plant’s establishment was opposed by the locals in Gola on the grounds of poor land compensation.
It has been stated in the FIR lodged against Mamta Devi that On August 29, 2016, she had led 160 villagers in protest against the company in a violent manner. The mob stopped the water supply in the plant by blocking the Senegraha River and damaging the pump house.
Due to a shortage of water, the production stopped. The police had earlier tried to resolve the situation through mild force. However, the mob became violent and attacked the policemen.
Supporters of Mamta Devi allegedly also fired shots in protest against the police which left five policemen and one magistrate injured in the melee. PTI COR NAM NN
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.