BJP leader Naqvi held guilty, gets bail

Lucknow: BJP leader and central minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Wednesday got bail after a court sentenced him to a year in prison for violating the model code of conduct in 2009.

The chief judicial magistrate ordered the detention of the minister of state for minority affairs and parliamentary affairs but later released him on a personal bond of Rs.20,000.

The verdict came in a case related to a protest reportedly led by the Bharatiya Janata Party leader in 2009 at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.

Naqvi, who was in Rampur Wednesday, denied he was present at the 2009 protest and said he will appeal in a higher court.

Police had registered a case against Naqvi and 200 other people.