Verdict in another fodder scam case against Lalu on Thursday

The judgement in the fourth fodder scam case involving former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad will be delivered on Thursday by a special CBI court here.

The hearing in the fodder case -- relating to fraudulent withdrawals of Rs 3.13 crore from December 1995 to January 1996 from the Dumka treasury -- was completed on March 5.

Besides Lalu Prasad, another former Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra and 30 others are accused in this case.

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.

He now faces two other cases -- one in Ranchi and one in Patna.

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

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