No decision on Lalu Prasad Yadav's parole plea yet, says police after reports claim jailed RJD chief would attend son's wedding

Ranchi/Patna: No final decision has been taken on request for parole sought by RJD president Lalu Prasad to attend his son’s marriage later this week, Inspector General of Prison, Jharkhand, Harsh Mangla said. He said in Ranchi that “the issue is under consideration”. “No final decision has been taken on request for parole sought by Lalu,” the inspector general said. Mangla, however, said the decision would be taken on it by Thursday. The septuagenarian, who has been convicted in three fodder scam cases by a special CBI court in Ranchi since December 2017, is currently undergoing treatment at the RIMS hospital in the Jharkhand capital. A request for five days parole (from 10-14 May) was made on Monday on behalf of Lalu to attend the marriage of his elder son and former Bihar minister Tej Pratap Yadav in Patna. Tej will tie the nuptial knot with Aishwarya Rai, daughter of RJD MLA Chandrika Rai, in Patna on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_4295943” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. PTI[/caption] Bhola Yadav, RJD national general secretary and MLA, who waited anxiously throughout the day for the order on parole application in Ranchi, said that “there is no information in this regard”. Bhola, a close aide of RJD chief, further said “there is no information for future too”. “We moved an application before the inspector general, for parole from 10-14 May. We hope that our leader will not be deprived of the opportunity to attend the marriage ceremony of his son which is an occasion that comes once in a lifetime,” he had said yesterday. There was hectic speculation in the media circle , both in Ranchi as well in Patna, of Lalu flying to Bihar capital in the evening. The inspector general said a detailed report was required from jail authority, RIMS and other government agencies before taking a final decision on such a matter. The RJD chief was recently shifted from the AIIMS, Delhi to Ranchi after doctors declared him fit. Lalu could not attend the engagement ceremony of his son in Patna on 18 April following which Tej had tweeted, “Miss you PAPA”. Lalu’s family have so far extended invitation to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi, among others.