
HC admits CBI appeal for increasing sentence of Lalu in fodder scam
2
Ranchi: The Jharkhand high court on Wednesday admitted an appeal filed by the CBI for increasing the sentence given to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief
Lalu Prasad
, a
fodder scam
convict.
Lalu was convicted in the scam case related to the Deoghar treasury for a defalcation of Rs 89 lakh.
The special CBI court had convicted the RJD leader in the case and sentenced him to three and a half years in prison.
The CBI court had convicted five others other than Lalu in the case. They were Beck Julius, R K Rana, Fulchand Singh, Mahesh Prasad and Subir Bhattacharya. All the convicts were sentenced to undergo three and half years of imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 10 lakh each.
Besides Lalu, the CBI has also filed the appeal seeking increasing of sentence for Julius and Bhattacharya.
The other convicts died pursuant to their conviction in 2018.
Being the chief minister of Bihar, Lalu also held the portfolio of finance department and was aware of fake withdrawals in the garb of inflated bills of veterinary feed and medicines. The Deoghar treasury had recorded a withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh in the investigation conducted by the CBI.
The CBI moved an appeal against the order of the special judge stating that the RJD leader was instrumental and was overall in charge of the animal husbandry department at that time. Investigation had revealed that he was aware of the defalcation done in the Deoghar treasury. Yet the lower court only awarded a sentence of three and a half years for the offence, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years, said CBI counsel Deepak Bharti.

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