Fodder Scam: Lalu Prasad Yadav sentenced to 3.5-year in jail

Ranchi: Finally, the special CBI court on Saturday sentenced Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav to three-and-a-half-year imprisonment and pecuniary fine of Rs 5 lakh in second fodder scam case.

Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court judge Shivpal Singh, who is known for delivering many big judgments, pronounced the quantum of sentence to Lalu and other convicts including Phool Chand, Mahesh Prasad, Bake Julious, Sunil Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Sudhir Kumar and Raja Ram via video conferencing. All of them have been sentenced to 3.5 years in jail and Rs 5 lakh fine.

If the convicts fail to furnish the fine, their sentence will be extended by six months.

According to the lawyers, the RJD chief was entitled to three to seven years in prison. If he was awarded three years’ punishment, he would get bail soon after sentencing. But as his punishment is six months longer, he will not be allowed bail.

After the court pronounced its verdict, former Bihar Deputy CM and Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav said, "The judiciary performed its duty. We will go to the High Court after studying the sentence and apply for a bail."

Lauding the decision, JD-U leader KC Tyagi said, "We welcome this judgement, this will prove to be a historic decision in Bihar politics. It is the end of a chapter."

The quantum of punishment was earlier to be announced on January 3, but due to some reasons, it was deferred repeatedly and was finally announced on Saturday.

Also Read: Lalu seeks minimum punishment; sentencing on Saturday

He had been kept in the Birsa Munda Central Jail before the announcement of quantum of sentence.

The CBI court had on December 23 convicted Lalu Prasad and 15 others in the case relating to the multi-million-rupee fodder scam.

Lalu Prasad’s lawyer has been demanding minimum punishment for the culprit owing to his poor health.

The CBI court had acquitted another former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra and five others in the case, relating to the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 84.5 lakh from the Deoghar District Treasury between 1990 and 1994.

Also Read: Sir, it is very cold in prison, Lalu Yadav tells CBI court judge

Lalu Prasad was the Chief Minister of then undivided Bihar from 1990 to 1997. The scam came to light in 1996.

The trial had completed on December 13 in the CBI court and 10 days later he was convicted.

There were 34 accused, out of which 11 died during the trial while one turned CBI approver and admitted to the crime.

Also Read: CBI Judge discloses receiving phone calls from Lalu’s men

The 16 convicted include three former IAS officers: Phoolchand Mandal, Beck Julius and Mahesh Prasad.

Lalu Prasad is also facing trial in three more cases relating to the fodder scam, known as “Chara Ghotala”.