Lalu Prasad sentencing in fodder scam case postponed till tomorrow

NEW DELHI: The quantum of sentence for Bihar's former chief minister Lalu Yadav and others in a fodder scam case will be pronounced tomorrow, reported ANI. The sentencing has not been pronounced today due to the passing away of advocate Vindeshwari Prasad. The RJD leader was expected to be sentenced today by the CBI special court. A special CBI court had on December 23 had convicted the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and 15 others in the case related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 84.5 lakh from the Deoghar district treasury between 1990 and 1994. Lalu Prasad's lawyer on Tuesday told reporters that they would press for minimum punishment in the case. "Lalu is 70 years old and suffering from many diseases. We will seek minimum punishment for him", he said. He was first time convicted in another fodder scam case in 2013, and was awarded five years in prison. The former chief minister of Bihar is at present lodged in Birsa Munda Central Jailin Ranchi. The CBI court had acquitted another former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra and five others in the same case. Lalu Prasad was the Chief Minister of then undivided Bihar from 1990 to 1997. There were 34 accused in the case, out of which 11 died during the trial, while one turned CBI approver and admitted to the crime. The 16 convicted people include three former IAS officials Phoolchand Mandal, Beck Julius and Mahesh Prasad. Lalu Prasad is also facing trial in three more cases relating to the fodder scam, also known as "Chara Ghotala".