Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s conviction by a special CBI court in the Deogarh Treasury Case, relating to the fodder scam, would mean it will be the ninth trip to jail for the former Bihar Chief Minister.
The CBI court in Ranchi found Lalu convicted in the case while acquitting former CM Jagannath Mishra.
The case pertains to Rs 85 lakh being swindled out of the treasury through fake bills and vouchers pertaining to cattle feed. The fraud dates back to 1994-96 when Lalu Prasad was the Chief Minister of Bihar.
The same court had, in 2013, convicted Lalu in another case pertaining to the fodder scam. The RJD leader was out on bail granted by the Supreme Court.
The embattled leader has been in-and-out of jail during his four-decade-plus political career. Lalu’s lawyer, Chittaranjan Prasad Singh, told News18 that the leader was sent behind bars five times related to fodder scam cases.
This would be the 69-year-old politician’s third stint in Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.
First lodged in the jail in 2001, when a local court remanded him in judicial custody, Lalu used the opportunity to showcase his political muscle as a huge cavalcade followed him from Patna to Ranchi. Lalu addressed rallies all along the route.
In 2013, the leader spent four months in the same jail for the fodder scam. Lalu arrived outside the jail premises riding an elephant.
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