37 PEOPLE GET UP TO 14 YEARS’ JAIL IN FODDER SCAM CASE

A special CBI court on Wednesday sentenced 14 years of imprisonment to the then regional director of animal husbandry department (AHD) OP Diwakar and slapped a fine of ₹2 crore on him in a fodder scam case.

It is the maximum punishment ever given to any of the convicts in fodder scam. On March 23, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad was awarded 14 years in prison and fined ₹60 lakh. He is currently undergoing treatment at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, under custody.

The court of special judge Shivpal Singh also awarded different terms of imprisonment ranging from 7 years to 3.5 years to 36 other convicts in the case related to fraudulent withdrawal of ₹34 crore from Dumka treasury during the period 1991-1996. This is the 51st fodder scam case in which a verdict has been given.

It awarded seven years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) to Diwakar under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and a separate seven years of RI under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, to run consecutively. The court awarded seven years in prison to 15 AHD officials and fined them ₹1 crore each. The remaining 18 convicted suppliers were given 3.5 years jail term and fined ₹50 lakh each.

The CBI registered the case on April 15, 1996, and filed charge sheet against 72 accused on October 10, 2001. Seventeen died during the trial, five became approvers, two pleaded guilty, five are still absconding and one was absolved from all charges by the high court.

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