5 more cases hanging over Lalu’s head

Experts say RJD chief will be tied up with legalities now, may get similar sentences in remaining cases

PATNA: The fodder scam case number RC-20 (A)/96 is merely the tip of the ordeal iceberg for RJD chief Lalu Prasad. Even if he manages to get a clean chit from higher courts, there are five other cases against him in various stages of trial.

All of them carry similar punishment — and together, might be five times the current five-year jail term and the ₹25 lakh fine that he has been slapped with.

Legal experts say in the current case, Prasad has been charged with conspiracy and none of the 350 witnesses have given any evidence against him. Even so, he has been found guilty.

So the chances are that in the other five cases, where he faces similar charges, he might be found guilty as well.

“He is very likely to get similar sentence in all the remaining five cases because the charges and evidences are similar,” said Arvind Kumar, senior Patna high court lawyer and former senior standing counsel of the Government of India. If nothing else, legal experts say the RJD president would be tied up with legal procedures for years to come.

Of these cases, in which Jagannath Mishra has been booked with Prasad as well, five are in Ranchi (Jharkhand) CBI court and one is with the Patna CBI court.

Case number RC 47(A)/96, involving misappropriation of 139.35 crore from the Doranda treasury, is at the prosecution evidence stage and 336 prosecution witnesses are yet to be examined by the court.

In another case — RC 68(A)/96 — involving fake withdrawal of ₹33.13 crore from Chaibasa treasury, 19 prosecution witnesses, including two investigating officers, are to be examined.

In a third — RC 38(A)/96, involving withdrawal of 3.13 crore from the Dumka treasury – the main Investigating officer is being examined by the court. There are 70 other prosecution witnesses in queue.

The trial of RC 64 (A)/96, related to fake withdrawal of ₹90 lakh from Deoghar treasury, is in an advanced stage, where only three additional prosecution witnesses remain to be examined.

Thereafter, the court will hear the defence witnesses.

In Patna (Bihar), there is only one case — RC63/96 —related to fake withdrawal of 63 lakh from Bhagalpur treasury. In this one, chargesheets have been filed but trial is yet to begin.

Prasad has been acquitted in the disproportionate assets case lodged in Patna.

OLD GUARD UNHAPPY WITH ‘DYNASTIC TENDENCIES’

The RJD old guard is unhappy with former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi’s assertion that she and her sons would supervise the party affairs during the period of her husband Lalu Prasad’s incarceration.

The day the designated CBI court at Ranchi sentenced RJD chief to five years imprisonment for his involvement in the fodder scam of 1994-96, party MP Raghuvansh Prasad Singh reached Delhi to attend a meeting of a parliamentary committee.

“The late Bal Thackeray was disenfranchised for six years by the Election Commission in 1999, but had continued to lead the party. Talk of finding a successor to Prasad at this stage is as outrageous as finding a replacement for a political leader or MP when they are on overseas visits. Prasad continues to remain our leader”, Singh told HT.