NEW DELHI: Former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay has been sentenced to 10 years in jail in connection with a teachers recruitment scam.
Special CBI Judge Vinod Kumar sentenced the Chautalas and seven others to 10 years in jail while one convict was given five years in jail and 45 others four years in jail.
Of the 62 people accused in the junior basic training (JBT) teacher hiring scam, six died during the trial and one was discharged during framing of charges.
Apart from the Chautalas, Sanjiv Kumar, the then director of primary education, Chautala's former officer on special duty Vidya Dhar and his political adviser Sher Singh Badshami were also awarded the 10-year jail terms.
Madan Lal Kalra, the then district primary education officer, Durga Dutt Pradhan, the then principal of a girls' government school and Bani Saini, the then principal of a government school, were also sentenced to 10 years in jail along with Daya Saini, the then assistant director of primary education.
Shortly after the sentence was pronounced, Chautala's supporters threw stones at the court.
They have been accused of tampering with the selection list of over 3,200 teachers recruited in 1999-2000, when he was chief minister, and selecting teachers by taking bribes and for nepotism and favouritism.
Earlier in the day, supporters of Chautla gathered Tuesday morning outside the Rohini court and tried to enter the premises, following which the police fired tear gas shells and resorted to baton-charge to disperse them.
"We had to use water canons, tear gas and lathicharge, as the supporters tried to break the police barricade outside the court around 9.20 a.m.," a police official said.
The protestors also tried to block all roads leading to the court.
"We have deployed over 1,000 police personnel in and around the court premises," the police official added.
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