Ranchi (Jharkhand): A special CBI court here sentenced 36 people to a four-year jail term in the fodder scam case on Friday. Simultaneously, a sum of rupees one crore fine was also imposed on a convict Gauri Shankar Prasad, the then animal husbandry officer of Ranchi.
All the convicts in the case were fined according to their age and charges which were framed against them by the special court. Rs 75,000 was the lowest fine amount slapped on the accused. It was a long-drawn trial in the case and the decision came after 27 years. The fodder scam case in the special court has been going on since 1996.
At least 617 witnesses were examined and over 50,000 evidence and documents were presented before the court. The special CBI court in its judgement on August 28, had acquitted 35 people. Whereas, 53 people were awarded less than three years jail term.
One of the accused in the fodder scam case has not surrendered before the court. Altogether 124 accused were produced in the court for trial in the fodder scam. During the period of the trial, 35 accused were released. The case was related to the illegal withdrawal of Rs 36. 59 crore from Doranda treasury.
Also read:Fodder Scam Case: 89 of 124 accused found guilty by CBI Special Court in Ranchi
Altogether 124 persons, including the budget and accounts officer, animal husbandry department officer, veterinarian, and supplier were accused in the case and faced trial. The special CBI court had found 88 of these accused guilty.
CBI lawyer Ravi Shankar said that the quantum of punishment was pronounced on Friday. There are several convicts in the case whose age is 80 years. The scam wherein several crores of rupees were fraudulently withdrawn from treasuries such as Doranda, Deoghar, Dumka and Chaibasa. The scam was exposed in the 1990s when Jharkhand was part of Bihar. RJD president and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad is one of the high-profile politicians, who was convicted in the case. He is currently out on bail on the health grounds.
