FODDER SCAM

Fate of Lalu Prasad in Rs 900 crore fodder scam to be decided today

lalu-prasad-property (File) Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ranchi will pronounce its verdict on Saturday in a fodder scam case in which former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad is an accused.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo, Prasad on Friday expressed hope that he would get a clean chit in the fodder scam case like other accused in the 2G and Adarsh scams.

"We trust and respect the judiciary. We will not let BJP's conspiracies work," Prasad said.

He said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments since the time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee have been harassing him and his family by misusing the CBI for the past 25 years.

Meanwhile, Prasad has reached Ranchi along with his son Tejashwi Yadav to hear the verdict.

The fodder scam case relates to the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 95 lakh from the Deoghar treasury.

Overall, more than Rs 900 crore was reportedly siphoned off from the Chaibasa treasury for two decades.

Altogether, there were 34 accused in the case, out of which 11 died during the course of the trial and one turned CBI approver and admitted the crime.

Former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra has already been convicted and sentenced to five years of imprisonment in one of the five fodder scam cases.

Tejashwi confident

Ahead of the court's verdict, RJD leader and Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday expressed confidence that his father will come out clean.

Interacting with the media, Tejashwi said the entire matter was a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) propaganda to pull the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) down.

"We trust the judiciary and hope the verdict will be in our favour. We hope that justice will prevail. Just like BJP's propaganda was busted in the 2G scam and Adarsh scam, a similar verdict will happen now," he said.

Tejashwi accused the BJP of practising vendetta politics and indulging in destroying the entire system.

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