Lalu to seek bail for attending elder sister’s last rites

PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad — sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail in the fodder scam — will seek parole to attend the last rites of his elder sister, Gangotri Devi, who died on Sunday, his son Tejashwi said.

While the cremation of 75-year-old Devi, who died of a massive heart attack, will be held on Monday, the RJD chief was expected to attend the tehravi, or the 13th day ceremony, sources said.

A CBI court had on Saturday sentenced Prasad to jail almost two weeks after finding him guilty of cheating and conspiracy in a fodder scam case involving fraudulent withdrawal of ₹89.27 lakh from a government treasury, 21 years ago.

“We are going to move an application soon,” Prasad’s son and former deputy chief minister of Bihar, Tejashwi said when asked if the RJD chief would seek parole for his sister’s funeral.

Prasad is lodged in neighbouring Jharkhand’s Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.

A widow, Devi will be cremated at her husband’s native village of Chakrapan in Gopalganj district, sources said. She is survived by three children.

Tejashwi, his mother, Rabri Devi, and elder brother Tej Pratap rushed to Devi’s home in Patna. It was a big personal loss for the family, Tejashwi said.

“She died of severe aortic stenosis (constriction of the heart valve, which led to frequent breathlessness), acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and left ventricle dysfunction,” one of the doctors attending on Devi said.