Journalism of Courage
RJD Chief Lalu Prasad on Thursday moved an appeal in the Jharkhand High Court pleading that the CBI courts September 30 verdict convicting him in a 17-year-old fodder scam case be overturned.
The former Bihar CM,who has been sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and is currently lodged at Ranchis Birsa Munda Central jail,has also sought bail.
We have prayed before the court that our plea be admitted and that the court should call for records and hear relevant parties. Meanwhile,my client should be granted bail, said lawyer Prabhat Kumar who appeared for Prasad.
Prasad has also sought a stay on the Rs 25 lakh fine that was imposed on him by the special CBI court of Pravas Kumar Singh.
Besides Prasad,the CBI court had convicted another former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra and 42 others for fraudulently drawing Rs 37.7 crore from Chaibasa treasury during 1994-1995. This was the 45th case in the 54 cases related to Rs 950 crore Animal Husbandry scam that have ended in convictions by different CBI courts. Prasad,along with Jagannath Mishra,is accused in six such cases. This was the first one to be decided.
