Former chief minister of Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad was on Monday held guilty in the fourth fodder scam case that also involves 30 others.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here in its judgment said the RJD chief was guilty of fraudulently withdrawing Rs. 3.13 crore from Dumka Treasury between December 1995 and January 1996, when he was the chief minister of undivided Bihar. The verdict, scheduled on March 15, was deferred four times.
Former chief minister Jagannath Mishra from the Bharatiya Jan Congress (Rashtriya) was acquitted by the court in the case. This is the second case in which Mishra has been acquitted. Both Lalu Prasad and Mishra are facing five cases each in the fodder scam in Ranchi. There were 31 accused in this case, of which 19 were convicted and 12 acquitted.
Lalu, who has been admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) after falling sick in the jail on Saturday, was not present for the hearing. His lawyer was present when the verdict was announced.
Lalu Prasad Yadav is already serving a jail term of 13.5 years in three fodder cases. According to Lalu Prasad's lawyer, the CBI court will pronounce the quantum of sentence later.