RJD chief, Mishra and 43 others held guilty in fodder scam, lalu to appeal
In a major blow to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Monday, a special designated Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ranchi convicted two former Bihar Chief Ministers —lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra — along with 43 others in a fodder scam case RC20A/96, which dragged for around 17 long years to reach the first stage of finality.
lalu and Mishra along with the 35 others were immediately taken into custody and sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail, Hotwar after being convicted by the court. The quantum of punishment for lalu and others will be pronounced on October 3 through video-conferencing in the newly opened e-Court in Ranchi.
However, Tejaswi, lalu’s apparent heir, said that the conviction of his father would be challenged in Jharkhand High Court. He also added that the matter would be taken to the court of the people in the forthcoming elections.
According to a legal expert, the RJD chief may invite a jail term for four to seven years.
The RJD chief, who along with Mishra among others, was found guilty of conspiring to fraudulently withdraw `37.70 crore from Chaibasa Treasury under Section 120 (B) read with 420 of Indian Penal Code and Section 13(2) read with 13(1) (C) and (D) of Prevention of Corruption Act for Criminal Conspiracy and Criminal Misconduct in the fraudulent withdrawal of money from the Chaibasa treasury.
The then Deputy Commissioner of West Singhbhum, then part of Bihar, Amit Khare, had lodged an FIR in this regard in 1996.
“lalu and other politicians have been charged under PC Act as well as Section 420 of IPC for criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct while the bureaucrats have been charged both under PC Act and IPC,” said CBI advocate BMP Singh.
According to the CBI advocate, the judgement has been compiled by the court in 475 pages categorised into eight parts to simplify it namely —Introduction, Defence Synopsis, Suppliers, AHD Officials, Bureaucrats, Politicians, conclusion and corruption.
“Judge PK Singh while pronouncing the judgement said that the 475-page judgement divided in such a way in eight parts that 8th standard student can also understand it," said the CBI advocate.
The case was initiated after a PIl was filed by Saryu Roy, lalan Singh and Ravi Shankar Prasad at the Patna High Court.
The verdict is crucial for lalu and his future as a political leader since the Central Government Ordinance that would have shielded tainted and convicted parliamentarians and legislators from disqualification may be withdrawn after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi trashed it.
On way to court, lalu offered prayers at the Durga temple on Ranchi's Ratu Road. As he reached the court premises at 10:25 am in a bulletproof ambassador car along with his son Tejasavi under tight security of NSG commandos, restlessness erupted among the RJD supporters already waiting for him. lalu first asked his supporters and the mediapersons to move aside and then started walking towards the court room. He also waved at his supporters from the corridor before entering the court room.
As no one was allowed to enter the court room, Tejasavi had to keep standing outside the court room with fingers crossed till lalu remained there. Tejasavi was being briefed time to time by RJD leaders about the happenings in the court room while he stood with his friends outside. While the hearing, lalu known for his extempore comments, remained completely silent till judge PK Singh arrived in the court room.
As the CBI Judge started delivering the judgement at 11:10 am, tension could be easily seen on his face. He was seen wiping sweat on his forehead. lalu, sitting in the second row on the chair beside the dock kept his head down for 15 minutes and finally rose before the court requesting to be considerate to him.
"Sir, as I have been the Chief Minister of Bihar twice, also a Union Rail Minister and a presently a sitting MP. Therefore, I request you to please be considerate about my sentencing," said lalu in the court room.
Mishra, however, was seen holding and chanting 'Hanuman Chalisa' while sitting in the court. Most of the accused persons were putting 'tilak' on their foreheads.
As the bulletproof car came inside to take lalu for taking him to Birsa Munda Central Jail, RJD supporters thronged to take a glimpse of him. The district administration had to face a tough time in taking lalu to the car from the court room. The supporters were not allowing the police to move the car. Finally, City SP Manoj Ratan Chauthe and DSP PN Singh had to jump into the crowd to control it.
"As we were fully prepared for the situation, we were able to control the crowd," said the City SP. The National Security Guard commandos handed over lalu to us and we took him to the Birsa Munda Central Jail," added Chauthe.
Meanwhile, former Bihar Ministers Vidya Sagar Nishad and Dhruv Bhagat along with five suppliers - Sunil Kumar Sinha, Rajesh Verma, Shiv Kumari, Vimla Sharma and Madhu Mehta and IAS officer V Armugum were pronounced three year imprisonment and slapped fine in the tune of Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh.
"They have been sentenced imprisonment for three years a maximum fine of Rs 5 lakh have been slapped on Madhu Mehta by the court," said the CBI advocate BMP Singh. Minimum fine of Rs 50,000 has been imposed on Vimla Sharma. They were granted bail by the court.
Three accused persons -- BB Prasad, Ajit Kumar Verma and KM Jha -- failed to appear in the court on the medical grounds.
Fodder scam case RC20A/96 relates to the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.70 crore from the Chaibasa treasury on fake bills in which an FIR was lodged on January 27, 1996 by the then Chaibasa DC Amit Khare and charge sheet was filed on April 27, 1996.
There were 56 accused persons of which 7 died during the trial and 2 turned approvers while one pleaded guilty. One of its accused former Chaibasa DC Sajal Chakravarty was discharged on technical grounds. Charges were framed on April 5, 2000.
A total of 350 prosecution and 40 defense witnesses were examined in the case involving 26 suppliers, 7 animal husbandry officers, one IT commissioner, one Treasury officer, 7 politicians and 4 bureaucrats.