A special CBI Court in Ranchi has found RLD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav guilty in a verdict delivered today on the Ranchi’s Doranda Treasury Case. This is by far the fifth and the biggest fodder scam case against Lalu Yadav while he has already been convicted in the last four similar cases in the Fodder Scam since 2013.
#BREAKING
— LawBeat (@LawBeatInd) February 15, 2022
[Fodder scam]
RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav convicted of fraudulent withdrawal from Doranda treasury by a CBI Special Court in Ranchi. pic.twitter.com/mc8vxXFSpO
Lalu Prasad Yadav was present alongside 98 co-accused in the Doranda treasury case before the court of special CBI judge SK Shashi in Ranchi.
Lalu’s Fodder Scam
The infamous Fodder Scam which is famously known as The Chara Ghotala involves former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, wherein he is accused of illegal withdrawal of government funds from various treasuries in many districts of Bihar. The stifled money which counts up to Rs. 950 crore was withdrawn under the pretence of spending on fodder and other expenses for cattle over many years until the scandal broke out in 1996.
While Lalu has been previously found guilty in scams pertaining to four treasuries, the CBI had registered 53 separate cases in 1996 in order to investigate the scam. The largest among which was the Doranda Treasury case RC 47 (A)/96 that involved the highest number of 170 people accused including the RLD chief who has been proven with embezzlement of collecting Rs 139.5 crore in the case.
Talking in detail about the Doronda treasury case, counsel BMP Singh, who has represented the CBI in the case said, “The CBI had filed a charge sheet in 2005. A total of 170 persons were named as accused in this case, but 55 of them died during the course of the trial. Eight accused turned approvers, two pleaded guilty while six of them are absconding. In the end, 99 accused are facing trial in this case,”. While the trial was completed on January 29, the verdict delivered on Tuesday found Lalu Prasad Yadav, former MP Jagdish Sharma, PAC Chairman Dhruv Bhagat, Animal Husbandry secy. Beck Julius and Assistant Director Dr KM Prasad as the main accused.
By far, the CBI has registered 64 cases to investigate the scam of which six are connected with Lalu Yadav; five of which were transferred to the Jharkhand state jurisdiction.
The RLD chief who was enjoying the bail in the Dumka treasury case since April 17 last year was present during the hearing in the CBI court today. Last week after returning from New Delhi from the ongoing medical treatment, he also participated in RLD’s national convention.
Lalu’s previous Convictions in the Fodder Scam
Lalu Prasad Yadav was convicted for the first time on September 30, 2013, in the Chaibasa treasury case. While he was accused of stifling Rs 37.70 crore in this case, this resulted in his disqualification from the Lok Sabha and a jail term for five years. He was later granted bail by the Supreme Court in December 2013. In December 2017, Lalu was convicted again pertaining to his involvement in the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 89.27 lakh from Deoghar treasury. While Lalu was sentenced to 42 months of jail term, in this case, he was out on bail within six months.
In January 2018, Lalu was sentenced to five years of imprisonment for involvement in the withdrawal of Rs. 33.13 crores from the Chaibasa treasury. Also in March the same year, the special court found him guilty of illegal withdrawal of Rs. 3.76 crores from the Dumka treasury and sentenced him to 14 years of imprisonment.
