Fodder Scam: Lalu Yadav Sentenced to 5 Years Jail in ₹139 Crore Doranda Treasury Case, Fined ₹60 Lakh

Fodder scam came to light after reports of some government employees submitting false expense reports surfaced in 1996. Crores of rupees were siphoned off from Doranda’s treasury and frivolous expense sheets were submitted without verification.

New Delhi: In a big setback for Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, a special CBI court on Monday awarded him 5-year imprisonment in the fifth and last fodder scam case, which pertains to the illegal withdrawal of Rs 139.35 crore from Doranda treasury in Jharkhand. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 60 lakh fine on the former Bihar Chief Minister in connection with the case.

Lalu, 75, appeared in the court virtually. He is in judicial custody and is admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) due to his poor health conditions. Earlier last week, the court had held the RJD leader guilty in the case, after which he was taken into custody. Besides Prasad, former MP Jagdish Sharma, the then Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Dhruv Bhagat, Animal Husbandry Secretary Beck Julius, and Animal Husbandry Assistant Director Dr. K M Prasad were also named as the main accused.

Fifth fodder scam case | CBI court in Ranchi sentences RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav to 5 years' imprisonment and imposes Rs 60 Lakh fine on him. pic.twitter.com/413701Rt5W

— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2022

Fodder scam came to light after reports of some government employees submitting false expense reports surfaced in 1996. Crores of rupees were siphoned off from Doranda’s treasury and frivolous expense sheets were submitted without verification. The scandal had resulted in Lalu Yadav’s resignation as the Bihar Chief Minister.

 Judgment of lower court will change in High Court: Tejashwi

Reacting to the court’s verdict, Tejashwi Yadav said, “I will not comment on the court verdict. This is not the last judgment. High Court, Supreme court is there. We’ve challenged it in the High court and we are hopeful that the judgment of the lower court will change in High Court.”

He also attacked the central agencies saying, “Apart from fodder scam, it seems no scam has happened in the country. In Bihar, almost 80 scams have happened but where is CBI, ED, NIA? In the country, there is only one scam and one leader. CBI has forgotten Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi.”

“If Lalu Ji would have shaken hands with BJP then he would have been called Raja Harishchandra but today he is fighting against RSS- BJP hence he is facing imprisonment. We’ll not get scared with this”, added the RJD leader.