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Found guilty:RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav arriving at a special CBI court in Ranchi on Tuesday.PTI | Photo Credit: -
The court of CBI judge Sudhanshu Kumar Shashi, however, gave directions to the jail superintendent and RIMS director to take necessary action keeping in mind his health, CBI counsel BMP Singh said.
Mr. Prasad, who was present in the court, was taken into custody. Arguments on the quantum of his sentence will be heard on February 21. The CBI counsel had earlier said the court will hear the arguments on sentencing on February 18.
Welcoming decision
Welcoming the court’s decision, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, one of the petitioners in the fodder scam case in the Patna High Court, said justice has finally been served to those who “pushed the State into darkness” for 15 years.
The RJD chief had earlier been sentenced to 14 years in jail in four other fodder scam cases. The final case was related to withdrawals of Rs. 139.35 crore from Doranda treasury during his tenure as the chief minister of undivided Bihar.
“Of the 99 accused in the case, 24 were acquitted, while three-year jail terms have been pronounced for 34 accused. A total of 41 convicts have been sent to prison,” CBI counsel BMP Singh told PTI.
The CBI had examined 575 witnesses in the case, and filed charge sheet against 170 people. However, only 99 accused including Mr. Prasad faced trial which had commenced in 1996.
Mr. Prasad was accompanied to the court by his daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti. Many RJD leaders and workers also thronged the court premises. Special CBI Judge Sudhanshu Kumar Shashi had on January 29 completed the hearing. All the accused were ordered to be physically present in the court on the day of the verdict.
Apart from Mr. Prasad, former MP Jagdish Sharma, the then Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Dhruv Bhagat, Animal Husbandry Secretary Beck Julius and Animal Husbandry Assistant Director Dr KM. Prasad were the main accused. Reacting to the development, Sushil Kumar Modi said no accused can be saved if there is solid evidence against them.
The RJD supremo, who has been sentenced to 14 years in prison and slapped with a total fine of Rs. 60 lakh, is on bail in four other cases related to Dumka, Deoghar and Chaibasa treasuries after conviction.
