Lalu Yadav Gets 3.5 Years In Jail, 5 Lakh Fine In Fodder Scam: 10 Facts

[timmy]

Lalu Yadav was arrested last month along with 15 others in the Fodder Scam Case. (File)

 

RANCHI:  Bihar's veteran politician Lalu Yadav, who was convicted in a second case of fodder scam -- involving the embezzlement of more than Rs. 84.5 lakh in government funds -- was given three-and-a-half-year's jail term and a fine of Rs. 5 lakh by a special court in Bihar today. It is unclear whether the 69-year-old will be able to walk out of jail in the near future. In Patna, Lalu's son Tejashwi Yadav, who held an emergency strategy meet, said, "The judiciary has performed its duty. We will go to the High Court after studying the sentence and apply for a bail". The former Chief Minister, who is in Ranchi's Birsa Munda Jail, received his sentence through video-conference.

Here are the top 10 updates in this big story:

1. Lalu Yadav's lawyers had argued for the shortest jail term - 3 years - which would have immediately made him eligible for bail. They had argued for the shortest possible sentence in view of his health.
2. Lalu Yadav was convicted on December 23 for criminal conspiracy, forgery, use of forged documents and under the prevention of corruption act, sources said.  This case relates to the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 84.5 lakh from the Deoghar district treasury between 1990 and 1994.
3. Lalu Yadav has said his conviction is the result of political vengeance.  At the emergency meeting of the party today, Tejashwi Yadav said the people were with Lalu Yadav. "He was chosen (by the people of Bihar) and he's in jail," said the former Deputy Chief Minister in the Grand Alliance government.
4. Taking a dig at the BJP, Tejashwi Yadav said, "Those who had not been elected is now in government... Amit Shah was scared of Lalu-ji". Last year, Nitish Kumar dissolved his alliance with Lalu Yadav and the Congress and partnered with the BJP instead.
5. Senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said, "Bihar's people have finally got justice".
6. The sentencing, which was expected last week, had been deferred twice. On Wednesday, the judge said they would proceed with the arguments on the sentencing in an alphabetical order.
7. The fodder scam involved the embezzlement of more than Rs. 970 crore in government funds in the 1990s during Lalu Yadav's term as the Chief Minister of undivided Bihar from 1990 to 1997.
8. Lalu Yadav has now been convicted in two of the five cases of fodder scam. Four years ago, he was convicted in the first case and was given a five-year jail term. After being in jail for two months, he got bail from the Supreme Court.
9. With ally Hemant Soren as Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Lalu Yadav was given VIP treatment during his last stint in jail - a converted guesthouse, where even the chief Minister came to meet him.
10. The state has a BJP government now with Raghubar Das as chief minister. During the last hearing, Lalu Yadav had confessed to the judge that it was a little too coldin the Birsa Munda jail, where he is lodged. To this, the judge, in a jocular vein, had asked him to "play the tabla". The judge also said he had received calls from Mr Yadav's "well-wishers". The party has denied making any calls.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/lalu-yadav-sentenced-to-3-5-years-in-jail-in-fodder-scam-1796656?pfrom=home-topscroll

[Balibabu]

Ma Kula devudey key jail tappa ledu, Jai lord krishna!!