Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has been found guilty in a fifth fodder scam case. A special CBI court in Ranchi, Jharkhand, has found him guilty of fraudulently withdrawing Rs 139.35 crore from the Doranda treasury. The sentencing of Lalu Prasad Yadav will take place today.

Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who has now been found guilty in all five fodder scam cases in which he was accused as a conspirator, was present in the courtroom as Judge CK Shashi presented the verdict on Tuesday morning.

Out of 99 total accused, 24 were acquitted. Among others found guilty are former MP Jagdish Sharma and former Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Dhruv Bhagat, who have both been sentenced to three-year jail terms.

The RJD chief is one of the main accused in the fodder scam case related to the illegal withdrawal of Rs 139.35 crore from Doranda Treasury. Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is currently out on bail arrived in Ranchi on Sunday was presented today for the verdict.

The Rs 950 crore fodder scandal, which shattered the veteran Bihar politician’s electoral career, involves illegal withdrawals of public funds from government treasuries in various districts of erstwhile Bihar for bogus spending on fodder and other livestock expenses over a couple of years.

Even if he is found guilty and sentenced to less than three years in prison, he will be able to walk away by getting bail from the special CBI court. If the sentence is longer than three years, he will have to go to jail and file a bail application with the high court, said a lawyer who did not want to be identified.

The RJD supremo is already been convicted in four cases in the multi-crore scam and so far, he has been sentenced to a jail term of 14 years.

Lalu’s previous four convictions

• Chaibasa Treasury Case- Rs 30.73 crore

Prasad was convicted for the first time on September 30, 2013, in the Chaibasa treasury case, which involved a fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.70 crore. He was sentenced to five years in prison, which resulted in his exclusion from the Lok Sabha. In December of the same year, the Supreme Court granted him bail.

• Deoghar Treasury Case- Rs 89.27 lakh

On December 23, 2017, Prasad was found guilty in the second case involving a fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from the Deoghar treasury by a special CBI court. In this case, Prasad was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. After serving half of his sentence, he was given bail in July of this year.

• Chaibasa Treasury Case- Rs 33.13 crore

On January 24, 2018, Prasad was found guilty for the third time in the Chaibasa treasury case, which involved a fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 33.13 crore. In this case, he was sentenced to five years in prison.

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• Dumka Treasury Case- Rs 3.76 crore

On March 19, 2018, a special court found Prasad guilty of fraudulently withdrawing Rs 3.76 crore from the Dumka treasury, sentencing him to 14 years in prison and a fine of Rs 60 lakh.

Lalu has challenged his convictions in the Jharkhand High Court and is currently out on bail.

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