Patna: Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad, president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), was on Monday convicted in the fourth fodder scam case by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court, dealing a further blow to his political career. The court, however, acquitted his predecessor Dr Jagannath Mishra.
There were a total of 31 people facing trial in the case relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs37.60 million from a government treasury. The court of Justice Shivpal Singh, however, convicted 19 people, including Lalu, while acquitting the remaining 12 people who included three top politicians. The quantum of punishment will be announced later this week for which three days have been fixed.
The RJD president was not present in the court when it held him guilty in the case. Lalu who was admitted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) after multiple health complications was brought to the court after the court ordered all the accused persons to be present by 12 noon. However, by the time he could reach there, he already had been convicted.
He was admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) after falling sick on Saturday. Doctors said the RJD chief is currently suffering from perianal abscess and uneasiness, and is under complete observation of doctors. He also is having cardiac ailments.
Lalu refused to talk to the waiting media persons in the court and was rushed back to the hospital for treatment after his brief court appearance. However, his party questioned the court judgement saying they failed to understand why the party chief was being held guilty while the conspiracy charges had not been proved.
“It’s strange … Lalu has been jailed but some others (obliquely referring to Jagannath Mishra) have been granted bail. When all were facing conspiracy charges then why some have been acquitted and some have been jailed?” asked RJD vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, talking to media in the court premises.
He charged the ruling Narendra Modi government with framing his political adversaries in false cases. “Narendra Modi is behind all these…,” Singh alleged, adding the recent revolt by some Supreme Court judges have amply exposed the prevailing state of affairs in Indian judiciary.
RJD’s national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha, however, sounded confident saying, “This is not the last court. We will move the higher court”. He hoped that Lalu would ultimately come out clean.
Another party spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav wondered over the court judgement. “He is being frequently held guilty in the same case. The lone chicken is being slaughtered every time,” Yadav observed, raising fingers over what he describes a “curious game of bail and jail”.
Lalu’s wife Rabri Devi said she was hopeful of getting a reprieve from the court but had been left disappointed by the judgement.
The RJD president so far has been convicted in three fodder scam cases and is already serving a jail term of 13.5 years in these cases. He is currently lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.
