Babubhai Khimabhai Katara
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| Babubhai Khimabhai Katara | |
| Image:Babubhai katara.jpg |
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| Constituency | Dohad |
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| Born | January 1, 1961 Dohad, Gujarat |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Spouse | Smt. Sharadaben B. Katara |
| Children | 2 sons and 1 daughter |
| Residence | Dohad |
| As of February 25, 2006 Source: [1] |
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Babubhai Khimabhai Katara (born January 1, 1961) is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the reserved (Scheduled Tribe) Dohad constituency of Gujarat and is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. In the elections in 2004, he had won over the candidate from the Indian National Congress with a margin of 0.07% of the popular vote; he had also won in 1999 from the same seat.
[edit] Participation in Gujarat Riots, 2002
In February-March 2002, Babubhai Katara along with his son Bhavesh Katara are alleged to have participated in the large scale looting of Muslim establishments in Jhalod, Gujarat,[1] during the Gujarat Riots of 2002. A number of people were stabbed and killed, and Bhavesh Katara is alleged to have shot and killed one Yunus Yusuf Patel. The event was apparently well planned; Hindu houses were marked by saffron flags a day in advance. It was not possible to take the injured persons to hospitals or to bury the dead because of the widespread violence.
Subsequently, on March 3, Babulal Katara held a peace committee meeting together with the Deputy Collector and others from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. In this committee, the Muslim community was asked to agree to certain conditions in return for being spared any further violence:
- No Muslim boy should come out of the house after 10 pm.
- No ajaan (call to prayers) on loudspeakers in the Masjid.
- Close Muslim students hostels.
- Close slaughter houses on the highway.
- Whenever the Hindu band crosses the Masjid it will not stop playing.
- No Muslim children should even stand and watch Hindu wedding processions.
The community leaders agreed to these humiliating rules because they had no other choice.
Court case stemming from the violence are still continuing.
[edit] Arrested on charges of human trafficking
On April 18, 2007, Babubhai Kitara was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi as he was boarding an Air India flight 187 to Toronto. He was using his family's diplomatic passports to smuggle a woman, Paramjeet Kaur, of Kapurthala, Punjab, to Canada on his wife Sharadaben Katara’s passport, along with her 16 year old son Amarjeet who was posing as his younger son Rajesh. He had initially used his official clout to avoid any checking at the immigration counters, but airline officials detected that the faces did not match and CISF police personnel stationed at the airport detained him and he was arrested after interrogation.
Senior police officers told journalists[2] that a deal of Rs 30 Lakhs (about USD 70,000) was struck for Babubhai to smuggle Paramjeet and her son to Canada. During interrogation by immigration officials, she allegedly stated that Rs. 15 lakhs had already been paid to Mr. Katara's secretary Rajender, who had come to see off the three at the airport.
Apparently Paramjeet was hoping to join her husband Paramjit Singh, who was living as an illegal immigrant in Canada, according to her mother Mohinder Kaur in the Feroz Sangawal village near Jallandhar [3]. She had earlier been refused a visa, and was then trying through some influential travel agents in her area.
Subsequently, police officers alleged that on an earlier occasion also, he had taken a woman with him on his wife's passport[4]. In court, when he was asked whether he had escorted other such people on his two previous visits to UK and Canada, Babubhai kept quiet. Also, Paramjeet stated in court that the boy Amarjeet was not her son.
The fact that even members of parliament with diplomatic privileges can be approached for such purposes is seen as opening a Pandora's box on corruption in the Indian political system. (See also Operation Duryodhana).
On April 18, 2007, Babubhai was suspended from the BJP political party by the party president L K Advani for indulging in Human trafficking. This will possibly imply that he also loses his parliamentary seat.
he has appointed pandit R.K. Naseem as his lawyer. Pandit R. K. Naseem, is a very well known criminal defense lawyer. In fact, successfully defending the rich and famous seems to be exactly his forte. His credentials can be adjudged by his role in various high profile cases:
* Defense lawyer for Sushil Ansal, prime accused in the Uphaar fire tragedy. * Defense lawyer for Santosh Kumar Singh, son of a police officer who was acquitted in the Priyadarshini Mattoo murder. * Defense lawyer for IPS officer R. K. Sharma, chief accused in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder
[edit] References
- ^ Forum Against oppression of Women and Aawaaz-E-Niswaan, Bombay. "Genocide in Rural Gujarat: The Experience of Dahod District", onlinevolunteers.org, June 2002. Retrieved on 2007-04-19.
- ^ "BJP MP arrested at Delhi airport: Charged with attempt to take a woman to Canada on his wife's passport", The Hindu, 2007-04-19. Retrieved on 2007-04-19.
- ^ Vikram Chowdhury. "Passport case: BJP MP sent to police custody", NDTV, 2007-04-19. Retrieved on 2007-04-19.
- ^ "Katara may be part of a racket: Cops", Times of India, 2007-04-19. Retrieved on 2007-04-19.
