New Delhi, Feb 15 (LAB) A Special CBI court in Ranchi convicted the former Union Minister and RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Rs 139 crore Doranda treasury scam case. With the completion of this case, Lalu Prasad Yadav is now a convict in all five cases of Fodder scam registered against him worth over Rs 950 crore.
Special CBI Judge C.K. Shashi pronounced the verdict saying that Lalu Prasad Yadav has been found guilty of illegal withdrawals of Rs 139.35 crores from the Doranda treasury.
Lalu Prasad Yadav who was named as the key conspirator was present in the courtroom today as the special Judge CK Shashi read out the verdict.
98 other accused were also physically present, of whom 24 were acquitted. Of the rest, 35 were sentenced to three years in jail, including former MP Jagdish Sharma and then Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Dhruv Bhagat. This qualifies them to move for bail.
The quantum of sentence for Lalu Yadav and 39 0thers found guilty will be decided on February 18, noted the Court.
Yadav has already been convicted in four other fodder scam cases for illegal withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore and Rs 33.13 crore from Chaibasa treasury, Rs 89.27 crore from Deoghar treasury, and Rs 3.76 crore from the Dumka treasury. The Fodder scam had taken place when Yadav was Chief Minister of Bihar between 1991 and 1996. He has been granted bail in all four cases. He secured bail in the Chaibasa Treasury case in October 2020, and in the Deoghar Treasury case in February 2020. Most recently, he was granted bail in the Dumka Treasury case.
He was sentenced to a total of 14 years of imprisonment for his involvement in the fodder scam cases and has challenged all convictions.LAB/SNG/