Lalu Prasad Yadav would serve five years of "rigorous" imprisonment and was fined $40,000. PHOTO: AFP
Former Bihar chief minister and the founder of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Lalu Prasad Yadav was sentenced on Thursday to five years in jail over a corruption scam. The conviction disqualifies him from the parliament too.
Judge Pravas Kumar Singh, who headed the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court, convicted Lalu Prasad Yadav on Monday of criminal conspiracy, corruption and cheating relating to the ‘fodder scam’ dating back to the 1990s. The court also fined Lalu Rs2.5 million ($40,000).
Yadav, a former chief minister of the Bihar state and a national railways minister, along with 44 others, was found to have defrauded a scheme intended to help farmers with their livestock to the tune of 380 million Indian rupees ($6 million).
A battle has broken out in his party for control, with senior leaders hinting that they will not take orders from Lalu’s wife and son.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2013.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ