Lalu supporters reach city with dahi-chura

RANCHI: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supporters on Saturday reached the Birsa Munda central jail with dahi and chura the eve of Makar Sankranti for their jailed leader Lalu Prasad Yadav who had expressed his wish to have the delicacy on the festival day. Earlier on Friday, Lalu's lawyer moved the Jharkhand high court for bail after his conviction on January 6 in the Deoghar fodder scam case.
"RJD supporters went with the items to meet Lalu ji ahead of Makar Sankranti. However, they were not allowed to go in. So, they handed over the items to prison guards to deliver them to him," RJD's Jharkhand general secretary Kailash Yadav said.

Lalu has been in the jail since December 23 after he was convicted in a fodder scam case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from Deoghar treasury in the 1990s. He was sentenced to 3.5 years in jail in the case by a special CBI court on January 6.

During a conversation with special CBI judge Shivpal Singh who had sentenced him, Lalu complained that he might not be able to have dahi-chura inside the jail on Makar Sankranti. The judge had remarked that he would talk to the jail authorities to arrange the items for him. The supporters on Saturday reached the prison gates to fulfil their leader's wish, RJD leaders said.

The neatly packed gifts will, however, not reach Lalu. "According to jail manual, a prisoner is not allowed to have outside food," an officer with the Birsa Munda central jail said. Even then, the 69-year-old politician's wish may not go unfulfilled. "Dahi-chura is likely to be distributed among all the inmates on Sunday on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. The VIP prisoners will also be served the same," the officer added.