RANCHI : Former Bihar Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has been sentenced to five years in jail after a special CBI court found him guilty in a third fodder scam case.
Special CBI court judge S S Prasad also convicted another former Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra in the Chaibasa treasury case and sentenced him to five years in jail as well. Both the leaders have also been fined Rs 5 lakh each.48 other accused persons and acqitted six in another fodder scam case.
This is the third fodder scam case in which the RJD Chief has been held guilty. He is facing trial in a total of six fodder scam cases. This particular case – the Chaibasa treasury case – deals with the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 33.67 crore from Chaibasa treasury in 1992-1993.
The allegation is that Rs 33.67 crore was withdrawn on fake allotment letters. The actual sanction of the amount was Rs 7.10 lakh. In all, there were 56 accused in the case, including former chief secretary of Jharkhand Sajal Chakraborty. Sajal was deputy commissioner of West Singhbhum district when the alleged fraudulent withdrawal had taken place.
This is the third fodder scam case in which Lalu Yadav has been convicted.
Currently, Lalu Yadav is in Birsa Munda Central Jail of Ranchi, as he was awarded a three-and-a-half-year sentence on January 6 this year in a fodder scam relating to fraudulent withdrawal from Deoghar treasury. Lalu Yadav was first convicted in a fodder scam case in 2013 and was awarded five years’ imprisonment.

Out of a total of 76 accused, 14 died during the trial, three turned approvers, two pleaded guilty and one is absconding. Of the 56 who faced the trial, six are politicians, three former IAS officers, six Animal Husbandry Department officials, a treasury official and 40 suppliers to the department.
Prasad has appealed in the Ranchi High Court against his conviction in the case.Earlier, Prasad’s first conviction in another case of fodder scam on September 30, 2013 for five years barred him from contesting elections for six years. He has three more fodder scam cases against him.
Tejaswi Yadav, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly and younger son of Prasad said, “In this case too we’ll appeal in the High Court and get relief…its is a conspiracy of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the BJP to keep Lalu Prasad inside jail as they’re frightened of his popularity in the upcoming elections.” (With Agency Inputs ).