Bihar’s veteran politician Lalu Yadav, who was convicted in the second case of fodder scam — involving the embezzlement of more than Rs. 84.5 lakh in government funds — was given three-and-a-half-years jail term and a fine of Rs. 5 lakh by a special court in Bihar today. It is unclear whether the 69-year-old will be able to walk out of jail in the near future.
In Patna, Mr Yadav’s son Tejashwi Yadav, who held an emergency strategy meet with the leaders of his Rashtriya Janata Dal, said, “The judiciary has performed its duty.
We will go to the High Court after studying the sentence and apply for a bail”. The former Chief Minister, who is in Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Jail, received his sentence through video-conference. The court was expected to pronounce the quantum of the sentence earlier, a day after it reopened after winter break, but deferred the sentencing to Saturday.
It also held RJD leaders Tejashwi Yadav, Raghuvansh Singh, Shivanand Tiwari and Congress leader Manish Tiwari in contempt of court for their statements to the media after Lalu Prasad’s conviction.
“It is shocking because none of us uttered a single word against the judicial process or the judgement,” RJD leader Manoj Jha told media.
