Ex-Bihar CM Lalu sentenced to 3.5 years in jail

A special court sentenced on Saturday Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad to 3.5 years in jail and fined him Rs 5 lakh for fraudulent withdrawal of public funds from a government treasury in Bihar 21 years ago.

The decision came roughly two weeks after the court convicted Prasad and 15 other people the case. Special judge Shivpal Singh had acquitted six others -- including former chief minister Jagannath Mishra -- in the case that is related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 90 lakh from the Deoghar treasury during 1991-1994.

Other convicts Phool Chand, Mahesh Prasad, Bake Julious, Sunil Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Sudhir Kumar and Raja Ram were also sentenced to 3.5 years in jail and Rs 5 lakh fine each.

Lalu’s son and RJD leader Tejashwi yadav said they would move high court after studying the sentence and apply for a bail.

JDU’s KC Tyagi welcomed the judgment and said: “This will prove to be a historic decision in Bihar politics. It is the end of a chapter.”

Source:Hindustan Times