CBI court convicts Lalu Prasad Yadav, Jagannath Mishra in third fodder scam case, sentences duo to 5 years in jail

Former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra have been sentenced to five years in jail after being convicted in the third fodder scam case, a special CBI court ruled on Wednesday. The court has  also convicted former Jharkhand chief secretary Sajjal Chakravarty in another fodder scam case. The special Central Bureau of Investigation court of Judge SS Prasad pronounced the judgment related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 33.67 crore from the Chaibasa Treasury in 1992-1993. [caption id=“attachment_4290679” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. PTI[/caption] It was alleged that the Rs 33.67-crore was withdrawn on fake allotment letters. The special CBI court convicted five persons and acquitted six in this case. This is the third case of fodder scam in which Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad has been convicted. The special CBI court convicted 50 people and acquitted six in this case. This is the third case in the fodder scam in which Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad has been convicted. For Jagannath Mishra and Sajjal Chakravarty this is the second fodder scam case in which they have been convicted. There were total 76 accused in the case and 15 died during the trial while five turned CBI approver. Talking to reporters, Lalu Prasad’s son Tejashwi Yadav said “This is not the final court. We will move high court.” Lalu Prasad is lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi as he was convicted on 23 December, 2017 and awarded three-and-half years of imprisonment on 6 January in the fodder scam related to the Deoghar Treasury, under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). He was also fined Rs 10 lakh in the case for offences of cheating, along with criminal conspiracy, and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The punishment was handed down to 69-year-old Prasad by CBI court judge Shiv Pal Singh. The RJD chief was convicted in the fodder scam case for the first time in 2013 and he was awarded five years imprisonment.  He was given a prison term of five years on 30 September, 2013, in a fodder scam case. He was released on bail by the Supreme Court after having remained in jail for over two-and-a-half months The multi-million fodder scam case surfaced in the undivided Bihar in the 1990s. A Patna High Court directive ordered the case probe to be handed over to the CBI. The allegation against Lalu Prasad is that he ignored the scam reports in his capacity as the finance minister. With inputs from agencies