New Delhi:22 Jan 2013

A Delhi court on Tuesday sentenced former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala to ten years in prison after he, his son Ajay Chautala and 53 others were found guilty of illegally recruiting 3,206 junior basic trained (JBT) teachers in the state in the year 2000.

The court of Judge Vinod Kumar also sentenced Ajay Chautala to 10 years in prison.

The court had – on January 16 - pronounced them guilty of cheating, forgery, using fake documents as genuine, conspiracy under the IPC and for abusing their official position under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

78-year-old Om Prakash Chautala, the chief of Indian National Lok Dal, was held as the "main conspirator" by the court.

Even as the court handed out prison term to the Chautalas, thousands of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) supporters clashed with the police outside the Rohini court complex.

Police had to resort to lathicharge and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the slogan shouting crowds, and also closed the main gates of the premises.

A large posse of para-military forces were also called in to try and control the restive crowd.

Other than the 55 accused, their counsel, prosecutors and the court staff, the judge did not allow anyone else to enter the court room during the hearing.