RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav was on Tuesday convicted in the Rs 139.35 crore Doranda treasury scam, the fifth fodder scam case, by a special Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) court in Ranchi.
Lalu Yadav has already been convicted in four other matters related to the infamous Rs 950 crore fodder scam cases – the illegal withdrawals of ₹ 37.7 crore and ₹ 33.13 crore from the Chaibasa treasury, ₹ 89.27 crore from the Deoghar treasury, and ₹ 3.76 crore from the Dumka treasury.
All cases relate to the swindling of government funds meant for cattle fodder.
So far he has been sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison, but is out on bail for the four convicted cases; the last (the Dumka treasury case) was in April last year. The case involves funds taken by Bihar’s Animal Husbandry Department between 1991 and 1996, when Lalu Yadav was chief minister. He has also already spent over 3.5 years in judicial custody as part of his sentencing.
Lalu Yadav has also challenged all four previous convictions.
In jail since December 2017, the 73-year-old served most of his sentence at Jharkhand’s Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences. He was brought to Delhi in January last year after his health worsened.
However, if convicted and given a sentence of three years, Lalu Yadav will have to return to jail.
On February 5, Lalu Yadav had dismissed reports that he was stepping down as RJD chief and handing over the party’s reins to his son Tejashwi Yadav. “Those who run such news reports are fools. We will get to know whatever happens,” Lalu Prasad told reporters.
Reacting to the conviction, former Bihar deputy chief minister and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said: “We are the ones who brought this matter to light. We approached Patna High Court, demanding a CBI inquiry. I am happy that those who looted Bihar are being punished. Lalu Yadav is no longer relevant in the politics of Bihar.”
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