Fodder scam verdict: CBI court finds Lalu Prasad Yadav, 15 others guilty; RJD chief alleges BJP conspiracy

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) suffered a blow on Saturday when its chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was found guilty along with 15 others by a special CBI court in Ranchi even as six others including former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra were acquitted in the case.

CBI judge Shivpal Singh pronounced the verdict in a packed courtroom in the case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 1994.

On Saturday, the CBI judge first read the six names who were acquitted, which included Mishra, former Bihar minister Vidya Sagar Nisad and then Public Accounts Committee chairman Dhruva Bhagat.

Apart from Yadav, the court also convicted political leaders Jagdish Sharma and RK Rana, IAS officers Beck Julius, Phoolchand Singh and Mahesh Prasad, and government officials Krishna Kumar and Subir Bhattacharya. The others convicted are suppliers/transporters Tripurari Mohan Prasad, Sushil Kumar Sinha, Sunil Kumar Sinha, Raja Ram Joshi, Gopinath Das, Sanjay Agarwal, Jyoti Kumar Jha and Sunil Gandhi.

Following the conviction, Yadav and other convicts were immediately taken into police custody and sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail. Yadav is likely to stay imprisoned until the quantum of punishment is announced on 3 January, media reports said.

Angry RJD workers tried to stop the police vehicle when Yadav was being taken to jail. According to Times Now, all properties belonging to Yadav after 1990 will be attached by the probe agency.

RJD refuses to accept verdict

Soon after the judgment, RJD criticised the court, alleging a “clear bias” against Yadav and said that the party would approach a higher court to seek justice for its leader. Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, RJD leader Manoj Jha said that it was Lalu who alerted about the scam. “You are convicting the person who has helped expose the scam. It is a tragedy of errors. This is a clear bias against Lalu.”

Jha said that the “caged parrot” (referring to the CBI) has been “unleashed on political rivals” who do not bow before BJP and said that the decision would not weaken the RJD workers’ resolve to fight back its rivals politically.

Targeting BJP, Jha said that 11, Ashok Road (BJP headquarter in Delhi) was a “washing machine” that washes away all the taints of any person who bows before the party. Jha alleged a political conspiracy and claimed that the victory “will be ours”.

Kind of evidences we have, we'll get redressal at a higher court. Politically I know this regime, they have this typical Standard Operating Procedure-Try to make a deal with your opposition, if you fail...scare them. Want to tell them-Your end has begun: Manoj Jha,RJD pic.twitter.com/lkYjqNeI6g

— ANI (@ANI) December 23, 2017

Outside the special CBI court in Ranchi, senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said that the party was disappointed but assured that “the legal fight will continue”. He said: “We are disappointed with the judgment. In the same case Jagannath Mishra has been acquitted. Lalu had got jail, while Mishra has got bail. This is the game of Narendra Modi.” “We will move the high court. There is no other alternative,” said Singh, adding that the party would also go to the people and fight it politically. Senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui, a confidant of Prasad, said it was not right to comment on a judgment but the people were discussing how it is freedom for some people and jail for others in the same case.

“The layman is asking why it is jail for some and freedom for others? It is baffling how BJP and JD(U) had predicted the verdict. This has created confusion among the people also,” he said. Siddiqui further said that the case against Lalu was not “direct”. “The case was on excess withdrawal from Deogarh treasury. Lalu has been charged with connivance as he was the finance minister then; the charge is not direct. The withdrawal had been taking place since 1977. There were several chief ministers who were in charge of the finance department when Lalu was not the finance minister or the chief minister so why is he being singled out?” Siddiqui asked. He also said that it was not the first time that the RJD chief was being jailed. “He had been sent to jail on earlier occasions and each time RJD bounced back with double the strength. That is why we are still number one in Bihar,” Siddiqui said, adding that the party would decide its course of action once they are made aware of the quantum of punishment. Congress backs RJD Though Congress refused to speak on the fate of its alliance with RJD after Lalu’s conviction, addressing a press conference, Congress leader Manish Tewari said: “As far as today’s verdict is concerned, both Lalu and his lawyer are prepared to fight this.” Tewari slammed the Nitish Kumar government and further said: “The central charge is embezzlement from the state treasury. And the alleged embezzlement took place when the current chief minister (Nitish Kumar) was the chief minister.”

Lalu Yadav has been fighting this legal battle since 1996. It started when BJP leaders filed PIL against him in Patna HC. He & his lawyers are capable of fighting this case. I want to ask BJP why Srijan scam is not being investigated?: Manish Tewari,Congress on #FodderScamVerdict pic.twitter.com/n9L148hEi9

— ANI (@ANI) December 23, 2017

Meanwhile, rebel Maharashtra Congress leader Shehzad Poonawalla vented out his frustration over Congress’ reaction to the CBI verdict on social media. He tweeted:

BJP hails verdict as Lalu cries foul Sixty-nine-year-old Lalu lashed out at BJP on Twitter and alleged that he was a victim of vendetta politics. “To hide its failures, false rhetoric and to get votes, the BJP uses every dirty immoral trick in politics to change the public perception of its opponents,” Lalu said in a series of tweets. The RJD supremo also said that BJP was “propagating false rhetoric” and warned them that he was not alone in this war. “Bihar stands with me,” he said. Union minister JP Nadda criticised Lalu for politicising the issue instead of accepting the verdict. He said that the RJD chief’s allegations of conspiracy on BJP were an attempt to deviate.

The alliance between Congress and Lalu Yadav's party is an alliance of corruption,connivance and cheating the people of India, it is clear from the verdict of the court: Union Minister JP Nadda #FodderScamVerdict pic.twitter.com/5ryeV6rXIQ

— ANI (@ANI) December 23, 2017

Nadda cited other graft cases involving Congress and its allies, claiming that the UPA was an alliance of “corruption” and it had been exposed badly.

“It has been proved that Lalu indulged in corruption and the decision has been given by the court. How does BJP figure in it? It is the alliance between Congress and Lalu’s party when all such actions have taken place.

“Over three years after it was ousted from power, we still see one case after another coming out and courts are indicting and convicting them. So, this itself speaks of the deeds done by them,” the senior BJP leader told reporters.

Meanwhile, BJP’s national IT in-charge Amit Malviya said that the “long fight against corruption will continue”.

Lalu Prasad convicted. The long fight against corruption will continue...

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 23, 2017

History of the case

In 1996, the Patna High Court ordered an inquiry into the fodder scam cases and a charge sheet in the Deogarh treasury case was filed against 38 people on 27 October, 1997. Eleven of them have died and three turned approvers while two other accused confessed and were convicted in 2006-07, a CBI official said. Here’s a detailed timeline of the case:

The accused faced charges under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The first conviction in the 1996 fodder case came on 30 September, 2013, when Lalu, Jagannath and several others were convicted in another case pertaining to illegal withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from Chaibasa Treasury in the early 1990s.

The Supreme Court had granted bail to Lalu on 13 December, after being behind the bars for two months. He had moved the apex court challenging the order of the Jharkhand High Court which had dismissed his bail plea. (You can read more details on some key aspects of the case here ).

Saturday’s verdict was related to the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 84.5 lakh from Deogarh district treasury. The hearing was completed on 13 December in a special CBI court of Ranchi.

Lalu faces four more cases in the fodder scam including three cases of illegal withdrawal of Rs 3.97 crore from the Dumka Treasury, Rs 36 crore from the Chaibasa Treasury and Rs 184 crore from the Doranda treasury.

The trial in three cases of Lalu and Jagannath gained momentum in May after the Supreme Court directed the special court to complete the trial within nine months.

With inputs from agencies