Special CBI Court of Pradeep Kumar on Saturday directed the CBI to expedite production of witnesses in fodder scam case RC47A/96 so that the trial could be completed on time as per the direction of the Supreme Court.
Remarkably, the CBI has not been producing persecution witnesses for the last few dates while Lalu Prasad, currently lodged in Birsa Munda Central Jail following his conviction in other fodder scam cases, been appearing regularly before the court.
“As statement of any of the CBI witnesses could not be registered today also, the court directed the CBI to expedite their production as the Apex Court has passed a directive to complete the trial by February 8,” said Prasad’s Advocate Anant Kumar Vij. The defense is fully prepared; they might even produce more than one witness in a day, he added.
RC47A/96 relates to fraudulent withdrawal of more than Rs 139 crore from Doranda Treasury in which day to day hearing was being done by the CBI Court following the Supreme Court’s order to complete the trial in all fodder scam cases by February 8.
Meanwhile, another accused in the case, politician Jagdish Sharma filed a petition seeking permission to get X-Ray of his broken hand, which was allowed by the court.
“The petition filed by Sharma was allowed by the court and has been directed to get the X-Ray done at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences on January 29 under the supervision of jail authorities,” said the advocate.
More than 200 prosecution witnesses are to be produced to get their statements recorded before the court. Next hearing will be done on Monday in presence of Prasad.