Sending me to an open jail will create problem, warns Lalu
RANCHI: Incarcerated Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday said lodging him in Hazaribag open jail would create a law-and-order problem as a large number of people would throng the prison to meet him.
Special CBI judge Shivpal Singh, who had convicted Prasad on December 23 and awarded him 3.5 years of imprisonment, had recommended to the state government to send all the fodder scam convicts to the open jail.
The judge observed that the convicts had vast experience of cattle rearing and they could render their services at “gaushala” (cowshed) inside the Hazaribag jail.
When Prasad appeared before the court on Wednesday in a separate fodder scam case pending against him, the judge asked the former Bihar chief minister whether he was facing any problem in the jail.
On this, the RJD chief urged the judge to direct jail authorities to allow more people to meet him.
In response, the judge said: “That is why I had recommended to send you people to the open jail where you can live with family members and enjoy various facilities provided there.”
Prasad said such step would need deployment of entire police force to control crowd and pointed out that a large police contingent was brought in to bring him to court from the jail.
“Whenever leaders like me come here, a huge crowd gathers. People will take out marches to see me off to the open jail... Entire police force will be require to control the crowd,” he said.
When the judge said the court would direct the government to prevent people from taking out marches, Prasad said: “In such a situation, mass killings could take place.”
The RJD chief also urged the judge to refer to a government circular that prohibits keeping any convict sentenced to less than five years of imprisonment in an open jail.
‘DAHI-CHURA’ FOR LALU DURING SANKRANTI
Special CBI judge Shivpal Singh assured RJD chief Lalu Prasad that he would order the jail administration to provide him curd and rice flakes on January 14, the Makar Sankranti day.
Prasad had earlier told the judge that he had sent him to jail ahead of the festival, thus denying him dahi and chura.