Special CBI court convicts RJD supremo Lalu Prasad in Rs 139-crore fodder scam case

A Special CBI court on Tuesday convicted RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Rs 139.35 crore Doranda treasury embezzlement case.

The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on February 18, a CBI counsel said.
“Lalu Prasad has been convicted. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on February 18,” the CBI counsel said.

The court of Special CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) Judge S K Shashi had completed the hearing against 99 accused including Prasad, which was underway since February last year.

Arguments on behalf of the last accused, Dr Shailendra Kumar, were completed on January 29. All the accused had been ordered to be physically present in the court on the day of the verdict.

Of the original 170 accused in the case, 55 have died, seven have become government witnesses, two have accepted the charges against them and six are absconding.

Apart from Yadav, former MP Jagdish Sharma, the then Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Dhruv Bhagat, Animal Husbandry Secretary Beck Julius and Animal Husbandry Assistant Director Dr K M Prasad are the main accused.

The RJD supremo, who has been sentenced to 14 years in prison and slapped with a total fine of Rs 60 lakh, has secured bail in the four cases related to Dumka, Deoghar and Chaibasa treasuries.

Though CBI had registered 64 cases in connection with the multi-crore scam, Lalu was made a party in six of them; of which, five cases were transferred to Jharkhand after bifurcation of Bihar and one was dealt in Patna.

Earlier, Lalu was convicted in all four cases in the Jharkhand CBI court.

What is the scam about?

The fifth fodder scam case, RC/47A/96, is considered the most important in the wake of the biggest volume of money, Rs 139.5 crore, involved and the longest period of fake withdrawals from the Doranda treasury between 1990-91 and 1995-96. Lalu is among the 99 accused in the case.

The amount is fraudulently withdrawn in name of buying fodder, medicines and equipment for the animal husbandry department (AHD).

A case (60/96) was registered with the Doranda police station on February 17, 1996, in connection with the case.

On March 11, 1996, the Patna high court ordered a CBI investigation into the case. The state government had approached the SC against the order but its prayer was rejected.