Fodder scam: D-day today, Lalu Yadav’s lawyers hope to get a light sentence

RANCHI: RJD chief Lalu Prasad would probably be the first highprofile politician in the country to receive his sentence through videoconference on Thursday. Convicted in fodder scam case RC 20 (A)/96, Prasad is currently lodged in Ranchi’s Birsa Munda jail.

The sentence, to be delivered by a CBI court, would mean a jail term of anything between three to seven years for Prasad.

The defence plans to seek minimum punishment, citing an absence of direct evidence against Prasad and the state of his health. But with a copy of the September 30 judgment yet to reach them, they have not been able to draft a plea for the high court. The court of special judge PK Singh had convicted all 45 accused in the case involving fraudulent withdrawal of ₹37.70 crore from Chaibasa treasury between 1994 and 1995.

Among them, the other high profile convict, former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra, is undergoing treatment at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences. He would have to be shifted to jail or produced before the court on Thursday, as there is no video conferencing facility in the hospital. “The court may defer the date of pronouncement of Mishra’s sentence,” said senior advocate BM Tripathy.

RJD’S MP UNIT MERGES WITH BJP

Lalu’s conviction has only precipitated an existential crisis for his RJD. Even before the sentence was announced, state RJD president Sanjay Babulal Silawat embraced BJP leaders and announced the merger of the state unit with the party.

On coming to know about the development in Madhya Pradesh and in a bid to salvage their pride, RJD leaders on Tuesday announced that they had dissolved the state unit.

Having been reduced to an insignificant position, the party had been struggling for long to create its political space in MP. But to no avail.

In 2003 and 2008 assembly polls, the party contested four seats and polled 0.01% votes in both the elections.