Fourth fodder case: Lalu sentenced to 7 years each on two counts

A special CBI court here on Saturday sentenced RJD chief Lalu Prasad to seven years in jail each in two cases pertaining to the fourth fodder scam case and fined him Rs 60 lakh.

It was not immediately clear whether the two sentences would run concurrently or consecutively. Lalu Prasad's lawyer said that a clarity on this would be available in the evening.

CBI judge Shivpal Singh pronounced the sentence.

"Lalu Prasad has been awarded seven years imprisonment and slapped Rs 30 lakhs fine under the Indian Penal Code and another seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act and a fine of Rs 30 lakhs (each)," the former Bihar Chief Minister's lawyer Prabhat Kumar told reporters.

If the the sentences run consecutive then Lalu Prasad will remain imprisoned for 14 years.

The court on March 19 convicted Lalu Prasad in the fourth fodder scam case but acquitted another former Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra.

Both Lalu Prasad and Mishra are facing five cases each in the fodder scam in Ranchi.

There were 31 accused in this case, of which 19 were convicted and 12 acquitted.

Lalu Prasad was convicted in the first fodder scam case in 2013 and awarded five years in jail.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal chief was convicted by a special CBI court in the second case on December 23, 2017, and awarded three-and-half years' imprisonment on January 6.

He was convicted in the third case on January 24, related to fraudulent withdrawals from the Chaibasa treasury, and awarded a five-year jail term.

The multi-million-rupee fodder scam surfaced in the 1990s when Lalu Yadav was Chief Minister of undivided Bihar. The probe was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation on Patna High Court's order.

The bulk of the cases were transferred to Ranchi after Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2000.

--IANS

ns/ksk/hs