Lalu Prasad appears in CBI court in another fodder scam case

RANCHI: Jailed RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, sitting JD(U) MP Jagdish Sharma and former MLA R K Rana today appeared through video conferencing before a special CBI court in another fodder scam case here.

The statement of a prosecution witness, Jay Narayan Prasad Verma, was recorded in the case pertaining to alleged withdrawal of Rs 39 crore from the Chaibasa Treasury in the 1990s by producing false bills.

The court of Sitaram Prasad fixed November 18 as the next date for examination of the witness by the defence, Prasad's counsel Prabhat Kumar said.

Prasad, Sharma and Rana had appeared through video conferencing from jail before the special CBI court of Sitaram Prasad in a separate fodder scam case yesterday.

The three accused would again appear in the case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 97 lakh from Deogarh Treasury in the 1990s, on November 12.

After being sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment in a fodder scam case on October three, Prasad faces four more cases relating to alleged withdrawal of funds from different treasuries during his regime in undivided Bihar.

Forty-five of 53 cases of the fodder scam have ended in conviction with a few acquittals by the special CBI courts set up to try the Rs 950 crore Animal Husbandry Department scam, better known as fodder scam.

Barring one convict, who was sentenced to ten years in prison in a case, the others mostly received prison terms of up to seven years.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, who was admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences soon after being convicted in the case, was yesterday referred to the AIIMS.

Mishra was sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment on October three.