Fodder scam: Lalu to face trial for conspiracy charge says SC

Lalu Prasad will have to face trial in the fodder scam case. The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a plea by the Central Bureau of Investigation which had challenged the dropping of charges in the fodder scam against Yadav, the former chief minister of Bihar. The court also ordered that the trial be completed within nine months. The court said that Lalu and the other accused will face separate trials in the Rs 900 crore fodder scam case.

The Supreme Court had reserved its judgement on a Central Bureau of Investigation plea opposing dropping of charges against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in Rs. 9.4 billion fodder scam.

The top court had last month asked all the parties to give their submissions in a week. The court in April heard the plea filed by Lalu challenging his jail sentence in connection with the case.

The CBI had filed a plea against the dropping of a conspiracy charge against Yadav by the Jharkhand High Court in one of the fodder scam cases. The scam involved fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 950 crore of public money from the treasuries of Chaibasa in undivided Bihar under the head of the animal husbandry department in the early 1990s.

The money was withdrawn on the basis on fake bills and vouchers for buying fodder and medicine for livestock by the animal husbandry officials in connivance with traders and top officials and politicians across the party lines. Besides Lalu Prasad, former chief minister Jagannath Mishra, former animal husbandry ministers Vidyasagar Nishad and Chandradeo Prasad Verma, JD(U) MP Jagdish Sharma, BJP leader Dhruv Bhagat and former RJD MP R K Rana were also among the accused.

OneIndia News