lalu Prasad held guilty in fodder scam, Sent to Jail

Published on:

30 Sep 2013, 12:00 am

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar chief minister Jagganth Mishra and 43 others were Monday convicted in a fodder scam case by a Special CBI court here.

Special CBI Judge Pravas Kumar Singh found all the 45 accused guilty. The quantum of sentence will be announced Oct 3 through video conferencing. lalu Prasad arrived in Ranchi Sunday along with his son Tejasvi by a plane and stayed in the railway guest house.

On way to court Monday, he offered prayers at the Durga temple on Ranchi's Ratu Road. RJD leaders, including lok Sabha member Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Prabhunath Singh and lalu's brother-in-law Sadhu Yadav, were present in the courtroom when the judgment was pronounced.

In the multi-million animal husbandry department scam, popularly known as the fodder scam, lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra, both former chief ministers of Bihar, and ministers from the department, two IAS officials and others have been accused of fraudulent withdrawal of Rs.37.70 crore from Chaibasa district treasury.

After the division of Bihar, Chaibasa district is now in Jharkhand. The verdict is crucial for lalu Prasad 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ordinance that would have shielded tainted and convicted parliamentarians and legislators from disqualification may be withdrawn after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi trashed it.

There were a total of 56 accused in the case. But during the trial, seven accused died, two turned approvers, one admitted to the crime and one was discharged. Judge P.K. Singh had fixed July 15 as the date for verdict, and asked the remaining 45 accused to be present in the court.

lalu Prasad moved the Jharkhand High Court and later the Supreme Court, seeking change of the judge in the case. Both the courts dismissed his petition, and directed him to complete argument in the case before the CBI special court.

He quit the chief minister's post in 1997 when his name figured in the CBI investigations in the scam, which surfaced in 1996. Around 54 of the 61 cases were transferred to Jharkhand, after it was created as a separate state from Bihar in November 2000. Different CBI courts have passed judgments in more than 43 cases. lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra are accused in five cases.

In neighbouring Bihar, authorities apprehending trouble sounded an alert across the state Monday. The state authorities sounded alert well in advance fearing backlash from RJD supporters.

"The police headquarters has alerted all the superintendents of police and asked them to keep a close watch after the court verdict on lalu Prasad in the fodder scam case," a police official said.

According to police, alert was sounded following an intelligence report that lalu's supporters, including RJD workers and leaders, would take to streets or go on rampage if court verdict went against him. Additional security forces have been deployed in sensitive areas to check and control any attempt to create violence, police said.

lalu Prasad reaches jail

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief lalu Prasad Yadav Monday reached the Birsa Munda Jail here after being convicted in a fodder scam case by a Special CBI court.

lalu's bungalow wears pall of gloom

After his conviction by a Special CBI court in a fodder scam case, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief lalu Prasad's official residence at 10, Circular Road in the state capital was a deserted, gloomy place Monday.

Usually, the place is bustling with party workers and supporters. lalu Prasad's wife Rabri Devi also has served as the chief minister of Bihar. The huge green gate to the sprawling bungalow in the high-security zone here now has a pall of gloom over it.

"Initially, some party workers gathered here to celebrate, if the court acquitted laluji. But all of them left disappointed as news of the conviction came," a police official deployed in a security tent outside the gate told IANS here.

Another man posted on security duty at the gate said: "lalu's family members are inside the house. No one visited them." The situation at the RJD headquarters in the Bihar capital is much the same. lalu Prasad along with his sons and close aides left for Ranchi Sunday from this bungalow.

An alert has been sounded across Bihar Monday in apprehension of trouble by RJD activists after the court's verdict was made known. The quantum of punishment is to be pronounced Oct 3.

"The police headquarters has alerted all superintendents of police, and asked them to keep a close watch," a police official said soon after the verdict was pronounced Monday.

There were intelligence reports that supporters of lalu Prasad would take to the streets and go on the rampage if the verdict went against their leader, a police official said. Additional security forces have been deployed in sensitive areas to check any attempt at disturbing the peace, police said.

lalu was forced to quit as the chief minister 1997, when his name figured in investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation into what has come to be called the fodder scam. The scam first surfaced in 1996.

lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra, both former chief ministers of Bihar, ministers from the department of animal husbandry, two IAS officials and others stood accused of fraudulent withdrawal of Rs.37.70 crore from the Chaibasa district treasury. When Jharkhand was formed on Nov 15, 2000, by carving out districts from the south of Bihar, Chaibasa became part of the new state.