Convicted political figures
Lalu Prasad Yadav:
Lalu Prasad Yadav is the president of Rashtriya Janata Dal, former chief minister (CM) of Bihar, former Minister of Railways, and former member of parliament. He became CM of Bihar in 1990, but had to resign in 1997 following rising corruption charges related to the fodder scam. On October 3, 2013, he was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs2.5 million (Dh126,280) for his role in the first complaint over the fodder scam. Subsequently, he was found guilty on three other counts in the same case.
Om Prakash Chautala:
Om Prakash Chautala was the CM of Haryana from December 2, 1989, to May 2, 1990, from July 12, 1990 to July 17, 1990; and again from March 22, 1991, to April 6, 1991, and finally from July 24, 1999, to March 4, 2004. In June, 2008, Chautala and 53 others were charged in connection with the appointment of 3,206 junior basic teachers in Haryana during 1999-2000.
Mohammad Shahabuddin:
Mohammad Shahabuddin is a politician who was elected four times as a member of parliament from Siwan, Bihar, and twice as a member of the legislative assembly in Bihar. Having been convicted in many criminal cases, he was debarred from contesting the 2009 general elections. In May 2007, Shahabuddin was found guilty in a case of “abduction with intent to murder”, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
V.K. Sasikala:
V.K. Sasikala is a politician and business magnate from Tamil Nadu. She was the general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). She was a close aide of J Jayalalithaa, the former CM of Tamil Nadu. She was arrested along with Jayalalithaa on December 7, 1996, and was remanded to judicial custody for 30 days in connection with the colour TV scam. During Jayalalithaa’s three tenures as CM, Sasikala was alleged to have laundered huge amounts of wealth amassed by Jayalalithaa. On February 14, 2017, a two-bench Supreme Court jury pronounced her guilty and ordered her immediate arrest in a disproportionate-assets case.
Maya Kodnani
Maya Kodnani is former minister of state for women and child development in the government of Gujarat. In 2012, Kodnani was sentenced to 28 years’ imprisonment for her participation in the Naroda Patiya massacre during the 2002 Gujarat riots, but was acquitted in 2018 by Gujarat High Court. Kodnani was one of the most high-profile individuals to be convicted in the case, as well as being the only woman among the accused.