A special Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) court in Ranchi on Tuesday convicted RJD supremo and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in a fodder scam case. This is the fifth case wherein Lalu has been found guilty. Lalu has already been convicted in four cases related to the multi-crore scam and is currently out on bail.
The fodder scam pertains to the fraudulent withdrawal of government money allocated to the Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) of various districts in undivided Bihar. The instant case involves the illegal withdrawal of Rs 139.35 crore from the Doranda treasury.
Lalu, 73, had on Sunday reached Ranchi from Patna. He appeared physically before the court of special CBI judge SK Shashi today. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced by the court on February 18. If Lalu is awarded a jail term of three years or less than three years, he can file a bail plea in the lower court.
"36 people have been given a jail term of 3 years each by a CBI Special Court in Ranchi. Lalu Prasad Yadav has been convicted. The quantum of punishment to him is yet to be pronounced," Sanjay Kumar, defence lawyer in Doranda treasury case.
Yadav's lawyer Prabhat Kumar said that he has given an application in the court, seeking instruction to jail authorities to shift Lalu Prasad Yadav to RIMS, Ranchi on the ground of his poor health.
The court later directed jail authorities to move Lalu to RIMS on the ground of his poor health, one of Yadav's lawyers said.
Reacting to the court order, Lalu's son and former deputy CM of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav said, "Everyone should accept the Court's order. This is not the last judgment. Sentence was pronounced 6 times, we approached the High Court for all cases. So, this is not the last judgment. Lalu ji will definitely be acquitted. There is Supreme Court after High Court."
Lalu was first convicted in 2013 in the Chaibasa treasury case related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.67 crore. He was handed five years in prison. However, the Supreme Court granted him bail in December same year. He was again convicted in 2017 in a second case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from Deoghar treasury. He was then sent to jail for 3.5 years.
Lalu's third and fourth convictions came in 2018 in the Chaibasa treasury case and Dumka treasury case. While the Chaibasa case was related to illegal withdrawal of Rs 33.67 crore, the fourth case was about the illegal withdrawal of Rs 3.5 crore. In the Chaibasa treasury case, the court sent Lalu to jail for five years. In the fourth case, he was awarded a jail term of 14 years and a fine of Rs 60 lakh.
Lalu has challenged his convictions in the Jharkhand High Court and is currently out on bail.
The fifth case, the Doranda treasury case, is the biggest in terms of embezzled money and also accused involved (170).
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