Former BJP parliamentarian Dinu Bogha Solanki, his nephew Shiva and five others were sentenced to life imprisonment by a special CBI court on Thursday for the murder of RTI activist Amit Jethwa. Justice KM Dave also imposed a fine of Rs 15 lakh each on Solanki and his nephew after declaring them guilty of murder and conspiracy. The court had convicted the seven accused in the case on Saturday and the sentence was pronounced on Thursday in the presence of all convicts. Others convicted of Jethwa's murder include Shailesh Pandya, Sanjay Chauhan, Udaji Thakore, police constable Bahadursinh Vadher, and Panchan Desai. The court has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Pandya and Vadher, Rs 1 lakh on Chauhan, and Rs 25,000 on Thakore. The court also awarded a Rs 5 lakh compensation to Jethwa's wife and Rs 3 lakh each to his two children. Solanki represented Junagadh Lok Sabha constituency between 2009 and 2014. A few days before his murder, Jethwa had exposed illegal mining in and around the Gir forest, home to the only surviving Asiatic Lions, and had filed a petition in Gujarat High Court in this regard. Solanki and his nephew were made respondents in it. The activist had produced several documents in court to prove Solanki's involvement in illegal mining. On July 20, 2010, while the PIL was being heard, Solanki was shot point-blank by two men outside the gate of the high court. Initially, the case was investigated by Ahmedabad police's crime branch, who gave Solanki a clean chit. In 2013, the high court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to take over the case. The central probe agency filed a charge sheet against Solanki and the other six accused and the court framed charges against them in May 2016 for murder and conspiracy. A special CBI court examined 196 witnesses during the trial, out of which 105 turned hostile after being threatened by Solanki. Jethwa's father Bhika moved high court against it and the court ordered a fresh trial in the case in 2017. Justice served Justice KM Dave imposed a fine of Rs 15 lakh each on Dinu Bogha Solanki and his nephew Shiva Fines raging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 10 lakh were imposed on the other five convicted men The court also awarded Rs 5 lakh as compensation to Jethwa’s wife and Rs 3 lakh each to his two children (With inputs from agency)

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