Editor-Puja Breaking News!!, National

Lalu Prasad found guilty in 139.35 crore Doranda treasury case

A CBI special court in Ranchi found Lalu Prasad, the head of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and former Bihar chief minister, guilty of fraudulently withdrawing 139.35 crore from the Doranda treasury in the fodder scam case.

75 of the accused, including Prasad, were found guilty, while 24 were found not guilty. On February 21, the extent of Prasad’s punishment will be determined. The former chief minister is currently being held in judicial custody.

The RJD chief, who has been slowly re-entering politics in the state, arrived in Ranchi on Sunday to be physically present in court during the hearing.

Around 30 of the 75 convicted were sentenced to up to three years in prison. On February 21, the amount of punishment for Lalu Prasad and others will be decided. Prasad is currently being held in judicial custody. Concerning his health, we have filed a petition with the court. He has been receiving care from RIMS and AIIMS. “Whether the court will send him to jail or to RIMS will be decided after lunch,” Prasad’s lawyer, Anant Kumar, said.

Prasad was a defendant in the fifth and final case of the fodder scam, having already been convicted in four other cases.

The court had heard arguments in the 139.35 crore Doranda treasury embezzlement case involving Prasad on January 29 and had reserved its decision.

The hearing against 99 accused, including Prasad, had been ongoing since February last year in the court of Special CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) Judge SK Shashi.

Following the conclusion of the arguments on January 29, the court requested that all of the defendants be physically present on the day of the verdict.

55 of the 170 original defendants have died, seven have become government witnesses, two have accepted the charges against them, and six have fled the country.

Apart from Prasad, the key defendants include former MP Jagdish Sharma, then-PAC chairman Dhruv Bhagat, Animal Husbandry secretary Beck Julius, and Animal Husbandry assistant director Dr KM Prasad.

The 950-crore fraud involves fraudulently withdrawing public funds from government treasuries in various districts across undivided Bihar.

Prasda, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined a total of Rs 60 lakh, was granted bail in the four cases involving the treasuries of Dumka, Deoghar, and Chaibasa.

After a raid at the Animal Husbandry department in January 1996, the fodder scam was exposed. In June 1997, the CBI named Prasad as a suspect. Prasad and Mishra, who was also a former chief minister, were charged by the agency.

Prasad, Mishra, and 45 others were convicted in one of the cases related to the fodder scam in September 2013, and Prasad was imprisoned in Ranchi jail.

Prasad was granted bail in the case by the Supreme Court in December 2013, and the CBI court found him and 15 others guilty and sentenced them to Birsa Munda prison in December 2017. Prasad was granted bail by the Jharkhand high court in April 2021.

For more Latest News Updates visit our website- https://www.eastnews.in/

For Arunachal Latest News updates Visit- https://www.eastnews.in/arunachal-pradesh-news/