Patna: In a major blow to RJD chief Lalu Yadav and his family, the special CBI court on Saturday found him and 15 other accused guilty in the fodder scam case. On the other hand, six other accused including former Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra facing similar charges were acquitted. Mr. Yadav was taken into custody immediately after CBI court found him guilty and was sent to Birsa Munda Jail in Ranchi. The quantum of punishment in the case will be decided on January 3.
Sources from Ranchi told this newspaper that acquittal of Jagannath Mishra and six others came as a setback for Lalu Yadav who had hoped for a 2G- like of verdict in his favor. “This is not a final verdict, we will move the High Court against CBI court’s order which convicted Lalu Yadav in the fodder scam case,” senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told reporters after the verdict. Lalu Yadav has so far been convicted in two cases while four more cases are pending against him.
The case pertains to fraudulent withdrawal of more than Rs 84.5 lakh from Deoghar treasury when he was the Chief Minister of Bihar between 1991 and 1994. The fodder scam case had surfaced in 1996 and a charge sheet against 38 persons was filed by the CBI on October 27, 1997.
