Delhi - A former Indian prime minister, Narasimha Rao, and a cabinet colleague, Buta Singh, were sentenced yesterday to three years' imprisonment for bribing independent deputies to support the Congress party. Rao was prime minister for five years until 1996, Rahul Bedi writes.
Judge Ajit Bharihoke also fined the two politicians 100,000 rupees (£1,492) each, but suspended the sentences and granted them bail till November 8th to allow leave to appeal. Rao (79), India's first former prime minister to be convicted on criminal charges, was handed down two threeyear sentences for bribery, fraud and criminal conspiracy with both terms to run concurrently. Singh, who served as Rao's home minister, received the same sentence.