A special CBI court on Tuesday, 15 February, pronounced former Chief Minister of Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav guilty in Ranchi’s Doranda treasury case – the fifth fodder scam case he has been convicted in.
After four previous cases, the Rs 139.35-crore Doranda case is the final case of embezzling government funds in which the leader has been convicted for being a key conspirator.
In the courtroom on Tuesday, 98 other accused were also present, of whom 24 were acquitted and 35 others were sentenced to jail, NDTV reported.
The sentencing for Yadav and others will reportedly take place on 21 February.
"Everyone should accept the court's order. This is not the last judgment. Sentence was pronounced 6 times, we approached the high court for all cases. So, this is not the last judgment. Lalu ji will definitely be acquitted. There is Supreme Court after high court," Leader of Bihar Opposition and the RJD supremo's son, Tejashwi Yadav, was quoted as saying by ANI after the conviction.
Meanwhile, the court has ordered the jail authorities to move Prasad to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences on the ground of his poor health, news agency ANI reported, citing the RJD leader's lawyers. He was transferred to the hospital late on Tuesday afternoon.
The leader was first found guilty in 2013, and then in three more cases in 2017, 2018, and 2021.
In April 2021, a Jharkhand High Court had granted Yadav bail in the fodder scam case related to fraudulent withdrawal from Dumka Treasury between the years of 1991 and 1996.
Yadav had been in prison since December 2017 and was sentenced to seven years of jail in 2018 under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act in relation to the fodder scam case.
The RJD leader was also fined Rs 60 lakh in the Dumka case, and is presently out on bail in all four cases.
(With inputs from NDTV.)
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