Sukhram assaulted by youth, shivered while being sentenced

Soon after his conviction in a 1996 graft case, former Telecom Minister Sukhram was Friday assaulted by a Sikh youth who was angry that despite committing "such a crime" he has been jailed only for five years.

The 86-year-old politician, who was seen shivering in the court room at the time of pronouncement of sentence by judge RP Pandey, was attacked outside it, shortly afterwards while being escorted to a hospital for a medical check-up.

The policemen were taking him to hospital on the order of the court which had minutes earlier sentenced him to five years in jail for taking Rs 3 lakhs as bribe for awarding a lucrative contract to a private firm for supply of communication cables to the government in 1996.

The assailant, sporting a black turban, red T-shirt and jeans and identified as Harvinder Singh, had earlier accosted Sukh Ram in the morning, saying "Tussi Sukhram ho? Tussi aye ki kitta? (Are you Sukhram? What have you done?)"

But as he posed the query, the security personnel whisked him out of the court on objection by Sukh Ram's counsel.

Singh, however, came back when Sukh Ram was being escorted out after pronouncement of his sentence and flung himself on the octogenarian leader's frail body just outside the CBI courtroom in the Rohini court complex.