Indian politician jailed for corruption

World Saturday 06/January/2018 16:44 PM
By: Times News Service
Indian politician jailed for corruption

New Delhi: Veteran Indian politician Lalu Prasad Yadav has been slapped with a three-and-a-half-year jail term for embezzling funds meant for public development.
Yadav, who formerly served as Chief Minister of the East Indian state of Bihar, was found guilty of illegally withdrawing Rs 84.5 lakh (about OMR 50,000) of public funds that were originally meant to purchase fodder for cattle farms in his state, between 1990 and 1994.
Yadav embezzled money from funds meant for fodder on five different occasions. His actions have colloquially been referred to as the ‘fodder scam’ in Indian media, and the verdict that was delivered today was for the second of his five such scams. He is already serving a five-year jail term for the first fodder scam committed by him, and is currently incarcerated at Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi, the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand.
Yadav’s verdict was delivered by a special court convened by the Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s top law enforcement organisation.
A total of 34 people have been accused of embezzling state funds for personal use as part of this scam. 11 have died during the trial, while another admitted to the crime.