RTI activist's murder: Ex-BJP MP, 6 others sentenced to life

A special CBI court Thursday sentenced former BJP MP Dinu Bogha Solanki and six others, including his nephew, to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of RTI activist Amit Jethwa in 2010, accepting the prosecution's argument that it was a pre-planned conspiracy. Jethwa, a lawyer, was killed outside the Gujarat High Court, days after he filed a petition against Dinu Solanki and his nephew Shiva Solanki as part of his efforts to expose illegal mining activities in the Gir forest region.

Special CBI judge K M Dave also imposed a fine of Rs 15 lakh each on Dinu Solanki and his nephew and ordered the CBI, which probed the case, to take appropriate action against witnesses who have turned hostile. The court accepted the prosecution's stand that Jethwa's murder was a pre-planned conspiracy.

It had convicted all the seven accused last Saturday and pronounced the quantum of sentence Thursday. It had convicted Dinu Solanki, his nephew and five others under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder), and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

The others who were awarded life imprisonment in the case are Shailesh Pandya, Bahadursinh Vadher, Panchan G Desai, Sanjay Chauhan and Udaji Thakore. Some of them are associates of Dinu Solanki, who was the Lok Sabha member from Junagadh (2009-2014), while the others planned and executed the murder, according to the prosecution.

The court Thursday imposed fines ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 10 lakh on these convicts. It awarded a Rs 5 lakh compensation to the wife of the activist and Rs 3 lakh each to his two children. In 2010, when Jethwa filed public interest litigation (PIL) against illegal mining in and around the Gir sanctuary, Solanki and his nephew were made respondents. Jethwa produced several documents showing their involvement in illegal mining.

While the PIL was being heard, Jethwa was shot dead outside the high court on July 20, 2010. Initially, Ahmedabad police's Crime Branch probed the case and gave a clean chit to Dinu Solanki.

Dissatisfied with the Crime Branch probe, the high court handed over the case to the CBI in 2013. The CBI filed a charge sheet against Solanki and six others in November 2013. Charges of murder and criminal conspiracy were framed against them in May 2016.

The special court examined 196 witnesses during the first trial and as many as 105 of them turned hostile allegedly after being threatened by the accused. The slain RTI activist's father, Bhikhabhai Jethwa, then moved the high court seeking a retrial.

The high court ordered a fresh trial in 2017. "Our judiciary takes time but it has finally delivered justice to our family... even a criminal like Solanki is brought to justice," Bhikhabhai Jethwa said after the court's verdict.