A court in Gujarat’s Narmada district Tuesday sentenced AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava, his wife, and several others to seven years in jail in a 2023 case related to the alleged assault and extortion of forest officials.
The court’s sentencing is a setback for the Aam Aadmi Party in Gujarat, where Chaitar has emerged as one of the party’s most influential tribal leaders since its 2022 Assembly election breakthrough.
Additional Sessions Judge A V Hirpara also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Chaitar.
Prosecutor Vandana Bhatt said the eight other accused, including Shakuntala, have also been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
“At present, all the accused have been ordered to be kept in judicial custody at the Rajpipla sub-jail. In addition, the accused have filed an application seeking transfer to a jail in another district, as their presence in Narmada could disturb law and order,” Bhatt said.
“One of the convicted women is pregnant and another has a newborn child. Therefore, her lawyer has submitted an application requesting that the child be allowed to stay with its mother in jail,” she added.
Bhatt also said the accused had previously been released on a one-year probation in the case. However, since they allegedly committed offences again, she said, “taking all circumstances into consideration, the court has imposed the present sentence”.
Setback to AAP
Chaitar, who is the party’s working president in the state, became one of the most recognisable tribal leaders in the Narmada belt following his win from the Dediapada constituency in the 2022 Assembly elections in a victory that handed the AAP a foothold in the tribal heartland of South Gujarat. His political identity has been built largely on championing tribal land rights.
The AAP has yet to issue a formal response to Tuesday’s verdict.
The sentencing lands at a politically sensitive moment for the AAP in Gujarat, which is riding on Chatter Vasava’s popularity among tribal voters.
The party recently scripted one of its biggest local body successes in the state, wresting control of the Narmada District Panchayat from the BJP and winning key taluka panchayats across the tribal belt.
Case against Chaitar Vasava
The present case dates back to October 30, 2023, when Chaitar allegedly summoned five forest department officials to his Dediapada house after they had directed villagers, including co-accused Ramesh Vasava of Jhadoli village, to clear encroachments on forest land.
According to the FIR lodged at Dediapada police station on November 2, 2023, Chaitar and his family verbally abused the officials, physically assaulted one of them, and demanded that the forest department pay compensation to the affected villagers.
Chaitar allegedly also fired a round in the air with a weapon that the prosecution said he had no licence to possess, leading to charges under the Arms Act alongside Indian Penal Code sections for rioting, extortion, and threatening a public servant in the discharge of duty.
The following day, Chaitar’s personal assistant, Jitendra, allegedly contacted the forest officials to reiterate the payment demand. One villager had already received money by the time the forest officials filed a complaint.
Chaitar, Shakuntala, then a Narmada district panchayat member, Jitendra, Ramesh Vasava and his wife from Jhadoli, and three residents of Bogaj village, including two daughters and a son-in-law of Dungarji Vasava, along with two other villagers, were named in the First Information Report.
While Shakuntala, Jitendra, and Ramesh were arrested within days, Chaitar remained untraceable for several days following the incident. He surrendered on December 14 in the case and was granted bail after being nominated as the Bharuch Lok Sabha candidate in 2024.
On May 27 this year, the Gujarat High Court rejected Chaitar’s application to examine additional defence witnesses, dismissing it as “nothing but a last-ditch effort in delaying the trial.”
Justice D N Ray said the plea had concealed a chain of prior adverse rulings, including a sessions court rejection in April, a High Court dismissal in May, and a Supreme Court order turning down a Special Leave Petition on May 19.
The court held that his apprehension that his right to a fair trial would be compromised was “unfounded.”
The conviction lands at a politically sensitive moment for the AAP in Gujarat, which is riding on Chatter Vasava's popularity among tribal voters. (File Photo) 
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