Sukhram sent to 5 years in jail for 1996 telecom scam

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday sentenced former telecom minister Sukhram, 84, to five years rigorous imprisonment in a 1996 telecom scam case.

In 2002, Sukhram was awarded a three-year jail term under the Prevention of Corruption Act in a separate case relating to equipment supply that resulted in a loss of Rs 1.66 crore to the state exchequer. He had allegedly provided undue benefits to Rama Rao, Managing Director of Hyderabad-based Advance Radio Masts.

A seven-time MLA and three-time MP, Sukhram was expelled from the Congress at a time when his son Anil Sharma was a minister in Himachal Pradesh. In 1997, he had floated Himachal Vikas Congress.

Sukhram was attacked by a man in the Rohini courts complex minutes after the special CBI Judge ordered his arrest to serve a five-year jail term in a corruption case.

The assailant identified as Harvinder Singh, however, was swiftly nabbed by the police after being beaten up by some persons accompanying Sukhram.