RANCHI: Punishments for
Lalu Prasad continue to pour in, with a special CBI court sentencing the former
Bihar CM and
RJD boss to a total of 14 years for two more convictions concerning his involvement in the fodder scam.
Special CBI judge Shiv Pal Singh, who had held
Lalu guilty of two separate offences — one under the Indian Penal Code and the other under the Prevention of Corruption Act — handed him separate sentences of seven years each. Singh said that the two terms will be served consecutively: a ruling that means that the one-time strongman of Bihar, who is already serving sentences for three prior fodder scam-related convictions, will be behind bars for another 14 years. This is the maximum sentence awarded to any politician in the fodder scam.
The CBI judge, who acquitted all other politicians accused in the case, including former Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra, also imposed a fine of Rs 60 lakh on the ailing RJD boss, and directed the
Enforcement Directorate to confiscate the assets of Lalu and other convicts, which may have been acquired from the illegal income they received by fraudulently withdrawing Rs 3.76 crore from the Dumka treasury between December 1995 and January 1996. ED should estimate the value of the “ill-gotten” assets all the convicts have acquired since 1990 and confiscate it, the judge said.
The former CM’s defence had pleaded for leniency on the grounds of the long legal battle Lalu has had to endure to stave off convictions in fodder-scam related cases as well as his poor health. The court, however, showed no mercy. “He has been awarded the maximum punishment despite the fact that the nature of charges against him is almost similar in all the fodder scam cases,” said Prabhat Kumar, Lalu’s counsel.
The fodder scam concerned embezzlement of public money earmarked for promotion of animal husbandry by officials of the department tasked with the job. The combine raised forged bills to withdraw Rs 970 crore from government treasuries, the amount far exceeding the budget of the animal husbandry department. Considering the volume of fraudulent withdrawals, the court slapped a cumulative fine of Rs 5.1 crore on the 19 convicts.
Of the 48 accused, 13 died over the course of the hearing. One of the accused, a supplier, was convicted after a confession, while three others turned approvers. The trial against then-divisional commissioner of Dumka, S N Dubey, was quashed because of his conviction in another fodder scam case related to the Dumka treasury.
The remaining 31 faced trial and, on March 19, the court acquitted 12 of the accused. The court sentenced former regional director (AHD) O P Diwakar to 14 years’ imprisonment with a Rs 60-lakh fine, whereas all other ex-officials of the department were sentenced to seven years in jail with a fine of Rs 30 lakh each. The others were convicted under provisions of the IPC, thereby getting three-and-ahalf years in jail and fines of Rs 15 lakh.
