Lalu fails to appear in court in fodder scam case due to ill-health

RJD president and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad could not appear before a special CBI court due to ill-health on Monday for the hearing of a fodder scam case, his counsel said.

However, former MPs Jagdish Sharma and R K Rana and three ex-IAS officers, who were also accused in the RC 47/A fodder scam case, appeared before Special CBI judge Pradeep Kumar.

The case pertains to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 139.35 crore from Doranda Treasury in the 1990s.

"Jagdish Sharma, R K Rana, ex-IAS officers Phool Chand Singh, Mahesh Prasad and Beck Julius appeared before the court. Lalu Prasad could not appear because of illness," said Prasad's counsel Prabhat Kumar, who was present in the court.

Prasad, who was convicted in four fodder scam cases, is in jail custody. He, however, is under treatment for various ailments at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here.

Prasad's health condition has deteriorated of late due to a festering boil on his right leg and his sugar level and blood pressure have shot up due to the boil, the doctor who attends the diabetic politician said.

The former Bihar chief minister's dose of insulin has been increased to bring down the sudden increase in sugar level, he said.

Due to the boil, the RJD chief is experiencing difficulty in standing up and going to the washroom, sources close to Prasad said.

The fodder scam is related to fraudulent withdrawal of government funds from the treasuries of various districts of undivided Bihar in the 1990s when RJD was in power and Prasad was the chief minister.

Prasad was first convicted in one case pertaining to Chaibasa Treasury (Rs 37.7 crore) on September 30, 2013.

He was then found guilty in cases involving the Deoghar Treasury (Rs 89.27 lakh), the Chaibasa Treasury (Rs 37.62 crore) and Dumka Treasury (Rs 3.13 crore) between December, 2017 and March, 2018.