Bhupendra Khant, father get 3-year term for ‘attacking’ BJP MLA

In a complaint filed by Vasava, a total of 15 people were booked including Bhupendra and his father. While one of the accused died during this period, 12 others were acquitted by the court due to lack of evidence.

Vasava alleged that he had visited Santrampur to campaign for the byelections of the Morva Hadaf assembly seat which was eventually won by BJP’s Nimisha Suthar. On June 1, 2013 when Vasava was on his way back home, he was allegedly attacked by 15 men with pipes and hockey sticks near a cross roads in Santrampur, he had alleged.

In the attack, Vasava and his driver sustained minor injuries and his car was vandalised. The accused were booked by the Santrampur police under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 427 (causing damage or mischief to property).

V K Khant was the Congress candidate for the Panchmahal Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 elections. His son Bhupendra, who had won the Morva Hadaf assembly seat in the 2017 state elections on an dependent ticket, was disqualified from the Gujarat Assembly in May this year over submitting an invalid caste certificate to contest from a seat reserved for the SC. After his win in 2017, he had also extended his support to the Congress.