Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad has received a 14-year prison sentence and 60 million Indian rupees fine in a fodder scam case, according to The Hindu.
This is the maximum punishment that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Prasad received in the four fodder scam cases so far. The verdicts are due in two more fodder scam cases.
Prasad’s counsel Prabhat Kumar told the media that he would appeal in a higher court against the verdict.
On March 19, Prasad was convicted in the scam case in Dumka, now in Jharkhand, for fraudulent withdrawal of 3.13 crore Indian rupees from the Dumka treasury.
Former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra was acquitted in this case.
Back in 2013, Prasad was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in the first fodder scam case involving the withdrawal of 37.7 crore from the Chaibasa treasury.
The sentence immediately disqualified him from Parliament and barred him from elections for 11 years. However, in a relief to him, the Supreme Court on December 13 granted him bail in the case.
On January 6, 2018, a special CBI court sentenced Prasad to three-and-a-half years in jail and fined him Rs10 lakh in the second fodder scam case for fraudulent withdrawal of 89.27 lakh from the Deoghar treasury 21 years ago.
On January 24, 2018, a special CBI court sentenced Prasad and Mishra to five years in jail in the third fodder scam case for fraudulent withdrawal of 37.62 crore from the Chaibasa treasury.
Prasad has been lodged in the Birsa Munda jail in Ranchi since December 23, 2017, after being sentenced to prison term in the second case.
The fifth case relating to alleged fraudulent withdrawal of 139 crore from the Doranda treasury in Ranchi is pending with the court.
Prasad was recently admitted to the hospital for some medical assistance in Ranchi and advised to go to Delhi for further treatment.
