DELHI: Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President, Bangaru Laxman, received four year jail term and was further penalized one lac Indian Rupees on Friday; after the Delhi High Court found him guilty of receiving bribe in a fictitious arms deal 11 years ago.

Additional Sessions Judge, Kanwal Jeet Arora, sentenced the former BJP President under the Prevention of Corruption Act for misusing his office, holding him guilty of accepting bribe from fake arms dealers; recommending the Defence Ministry to award them a contract to supply thermal binoculars to the Army.

Mr. Laxman was caught red-handed when a sting operation carried out by Tehelka.com in 2001 recorded a video footage of the former BJP President accepting Rs. 100,000 from one of Tehelka’s representative (who was acting as an arms dealer).

The BJP has addressed to this issue by parting ways with Laxman. “He is entitled to his course of action now. It was certainly his personal liability as we have always said. We even removed him from the post of party president. He was caught in a sting operation,” stated BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad.