Fodder scam: Judgment on Rs 139 crore Doranda treasury case involving Lalu on Feb 15

Lalu Prasad Yadav

A Special CBI court on Saturday completed hearing arguments in the Rs 139.35 crore Doranda treasury embezzlement case involving RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and reserved its verdict for February 15. The former Bihar chief minister, who has been sentenced to 14 years in jail in four fodder scam cases, is also an accused in the fifth and final case.

The court of Special CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) Judge S K Shashi completed the hearing against 99 accused including Yadav, which was underway since February last year. Arguments on behalf of the last accused, Dr Shailendra Kumar, were completed during the day.

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CBI Special Public Prosecutor BMP Singh said that all the accused have been ordered to be physically present in the court on the day of the verdict. Of the original 170 accused in the case, 55 have died, seven have become government witnesses, two have accepted the charges against them and six are absconding.

Apart from Yadav, former MP Jagdish Sharma, the then Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Dhruv Bhagat, Animal Husbandry Secretary Beck Julius and Animal Husbandry Assistant Director Dr K M Prasad are the main accused. The RJD supremo, who has been sentenced to 14 years in prison and slapped with a total fine of Rs 60 lakh, has secured bail in the four cases related to Dumka, Deoghar and Chaibasa treasuries.