Lalu Prasad Yadav Case: On Monday in the fifth fodder scam case about to illegal withdrawal of money from the Doranda treasury, CBI court in Rachi sentenced the former chief minister of Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav to five years of imprisonment. As per the lawyers he has also been fined Rs 60 lakh.
For the illegal withdrawal of Rs 139.35 crore from the Doranda treasury of Ranchi in 1995-96 special judge SK Sashi convicted Lalu Prasad Yadav and 74 others and acquitted 24 accused on 15th February.
Due to some health issues former minister 73 years old, Lalu Prasad is now admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in the jail hospital of Rachi. As he has already spent three and half years in jail he may be released very soon.
In this case, the court had already fined 34 accused of Rs 20,000 to Rs 2 lakh and awarded three years of maximum punishment. On Monday including Lalu Prasad, the 41 accused was awarded Monday through video conference. The lawyers said that the maximum fine was Rs 2 crore.
Defence lawyer Anant Kumar Vij said, “The judge pronounced five years of jail term, of which he has already undergone three years and nineteen days. Since he has already undergone half of the jail term, we will file a petition in the high court to grant him bail.”
In the previous four cases, Lalu Prasad had already been convicted. One more case is pending before CBI Patna. It is on the illegal withdrawal of money from the Banka-Bhagalpur treasury.
On September 26, 2005, the charge was framed in this case. The statements of accused persons were recorded on January 16, 2020, and the conviction happened on February 15, 2022.
“I fight those who create divides. They can’t defeat us so they try to trap us in conspiracies. I have neither been afraid nor bent before anyone. I will keep fighting. The coward will never understand the struggles of a fighter,” Lalu Yadav tweeted the lines in Hindi.
“We had the mandate to rule in the 2020 Bihar election but they (BJP and Nitish Kumar) made a backdoor entry and took power. The same person is being harassed over and over,” said Lalu Yadav’s son and RJD MLA Tejashwi Yadav.
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