Former Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki and his brother, Rizwan Solanki, appeared in Kanpur District and Sessions Court on Wednesday in connection with a 2022 extortion case. The court proceedings were held under heavy security.
Irfan Solanki’s lawyer, Saeed Naqvi, argued that multiple cases have been filed against his client following the arson case registered in 2022. He claimed that the extortion case lacks specific details about the crime date or year and requested that any charges be minimized.
Currently, Irfan Solanki is serving a 7-year sentence in Maharajganj jail for his involvement in an arson case. In June, the MP MLA court in Kanpur sentenced both Irfan and Rizwan Solanki, along with three others, to 7 years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 each.
On November 8, 2022, Nazir Fatima filed an FIR at Jajmau police station accusing Irfan Solanki, Rizwan Solanki, and three others of setting her house on fire to illegally seize her land. The FIR included charges under sections 436, 506, 504, 147, 427, 386, and 120B of the IPC.
The court has mandated that all sentences run concurrently, with a total fine of Rs 30,500 imposed on each convict. Prosecution lawyer Prachi Shrivastav supported the court’s decision, stating that the sentencing was justified. However, Irfan Solanki’s advocate, Karim Siddiqui, criticized the verdict, arguing that the prosecution had failed to present adequate evidence and that the court’s judgment was unjust.
Previously, on June 3, the court found Irfan Solanki guilty of charges under sections 436, 427, 147, 504, 506, and 323, but acquitted him of sections 386, 149, and 120B.
