Fodder scam: CBI moves HC, seeks enhanced sentence for Lalu Prasad

Ranchi, Oct 5: The CBI has moved the Jharkhand High Court seeking that the prison term of RJD chief Lalu Prasad be enhanced from three-and-a-half to seven years in the Deoghar Treasury case in the multi-crore fodder scam.

The CBI said other convicts in the case relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from the Deogarh Treasury were awarded seven years in prison by a special CBI court on January 6 this year. It argued that all convicts should face the same prison term as the charges and witnesses against all of them were the same.

In the petition filed on Thursday, the CBI also sought enhanced prison terms for ex-MP R K Rana, former IAS officers Beck Julius, Phoolchand Singh and Mahesh Prasad, and former government official Subir Bhattacharya. Like Prasad, these five were also sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.

The CBI also filed another petition challenging the acquittal of former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra, Vidya Sagar Nishad and Dhruv Bhagat in the case. The probe agency contended that the special CBI court did not focus properly on the evidence even though it was adequate. Evidence of conspiracy was also there against them, it said.

Prasad faced five fodder scam cases, out of which he has been convicted in four. He is currently languishing in Ranchi Birsa Munda jail. The over Rs 900 crore fodder scam cases are related to irregularities in the Animal Husbandry department in undivided Bihar in 90s when the RJD was in power under Prasad.

PTI