Hyderabad: BJP leader Bangaru Sruti, daughter of former BJP president late Bangaru Laxman, says the soul of her father is still waiting for justice.
Laxman was sentenced for four years in prison in 2012 following a sting operation in 2001 which showed him accepting Rs 1 lakh. Ms Sruti is BJP Dalit Morcha national secretary. He died on March 1 last year.
In an article in a book published by the Gopalarao Thakoor Memorial Trust, Ms Sruti wrote: “Lord Rama after spending 14 years in ‘vanavasa’ became emperor again, but my father after 14 years of struggle after the Tehelka episode ultimately got only death.”
The book was released by former Governor V. Rama Rao on Sunday.
Recalling the day the judgement on the Tehelka episode was delivered on April 28, 2012, Ms Sruti wrote: “Father was expecting a favourable verdict and was confident but the verdict was otherwise. He was sentenced for four-year imprisonment by the judge.”
“Father wept about it saying he was being punished for a crime which he had not committed. The judge after delivering the verdict said ‘sorry’ and withdrew from the bench. This generated a question among lawyers present in the court hall over why the judge should say sorry, when he believes the verdict he had delivered is justified,” she wrote in her two-page article.
She said her father experienced hell during his seven-month stint in Tihar Jail before he was released on bail. His health condition deteriorated and he died after living through several painful years.
At the end of the article, Ms Sruti wrote: “The entire family is still eager to wage a legal fight against the verdict till my father soul rests in peace.”
