Smriti Singh, TNN Apr 29, 2012
NEW DELHI: Former BJP chief Bangaru Laxman was on Saturday sentenced to four years' imprisonment for having accepted Rs 1 lakh as bribe from a fake arms dealer who sought his help to bag an order from the defence ministry. The trial court rejected his plea for leniency and said he was guilty of "political corruption, and had sought to compromise national security for selfish ends".
Special CBI judge Kanwaljeet Arora emphasized that Laxman headed the BJP, the largest constituent of the then NDA government at the Centre, when he accepted the bribe from a counterfeit company to push the sale of hand-held thermal imagers, a fictitious device.
Laxman, who was caught on camera in a sting operation accepting bribe 11 years ago, is the first president of a national party to have been jailed for corruption, something that can embarrass the BJP in its anti-graft campaign targeting the Congress.
The case assumes significance because the court rejected the argument that Laxman, the only dalit to have headed the BJP, was a victim of entrapment, saying while the methods of those who carried out the sting may have been objectionable, their purpose was not.
Rejecting the demand for leniency on grounds of age, health and "unblemished record of public life" of four decades, the special CBI judge said Laxman had agreed to compromise the security of the nation" for his personal interests.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-29/india/31475551_1_fake-arms-dealer-bangaru-laxman-sting-operation
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