Lalu Prasad Yadav surrenders before CBI court

Patna: Fodder scam convict, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Thursday surrendered before the special CBI court.

He was sent to Birsa Munda jail and is likely to be kept under medical observation at RIMS hospital in Ranchi. His lawyers claimed that a team of experts, including doctors from the Asian Heart Institute, will submit a full report on his health condition before the court at the earliest.  

Before surrendering, the RJD chief said, “I am following the court’s order. I am not well but I have full faith in the judiciary.”

Asked about his health condition, he said, “I am not asking for anything right now. It is the responsibility of the state government to see whether I require medical treatment or not.”

Earlier, the Jharkhand high court which granted him provisional bail in May this year on medical grounds, rejected his petition for a three-month extension and directed him to surrender by August 30.

The CBI strongly opposed Yadav’s request for extension, saying that he had already been granted six weeks of provisional bail for medical treatment.

Yadav created a flutter in political circles by opposing the recent arrest of the five left-wing activists before leaving for Ranchi on Wednesday. Reacting to the same, BJP leaders on Thursday said that he had violated the condition of bail by speaking on political issues.

NDA leaders at Ranchi, too, claimed that Yadav held a closed-door meeting with several opposition leaders to discuss the political situation before his surrender.

RJD leaders also confirmed that former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi and JMM leader Hemant Soren met Yadav on Wednesday in Ranchi.  Yadav, too, could not deny meeting these leaders.

Lalu Yadav has been serving jail term in four fodder scam-related cases. The case pertains to illegal withdrawal of money from various treasuries when RJD was in power in Bihar.

The fodder scam surfaced in 1996 and a charge sheet against 38 persons was filed by the CBI on October 27, 1997. Lalu Yadav was made one of the main accused in the case.

Fodder scam convict RJD Chief Lalu Yadav surrendered before the special CBI court on Thursday.

He was sent to Birsa Munda Jail and is likely to be kept under medical observation at RIMS hospital in Ranchi. His lawyers claimed that a team of experts including doctors from Asian heart institute will submit a full report of his health condition before the court at the earliest.

The Jharkhand High Court which had granted him a provisional bail in May this year on medical grounds had earlier rejected his petition for three-month extension and directed him to surrender by August 30.

The CBI had strongly opposed Lalu Yadav’s request for extension saying that he has already been granted six weeks of provisional bail for medical treatment.

 “I am following the court’s order. I am not well but I have full faith in the judiciary”, RJD Chief Lalu Yadav said before he surrendered on Thursday. When asked about his health condition he said, “I am not asking for anything right now. It is the responsibility of the state government to see whether I require medical treatment or not”.

Lalu Yadav had created a flutter in the political circles by opposing the arrest of five activists before leaving for Ranchi on Wednesday. Reacting strongly against the statement BJP leaders on Thursday said that “Lalu Yadav has violated the condition of bail by speaking on political issues”.

They said that the Jharkhand High Court while granting provisional bail for medical treatment in May had barred Lalu Yadav from taking part in any political activities.

NDA leaders at Ranchi also claimed that Lalu Yadav held a closed-door meeting with several opposition leaders to discuss the political situation before his surrender.

RJD leaders also confirmed that former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi and JMM leader Hemant Soren had met him on Wednesday in Ranchi. Lalu Yadav also couldn’t deny meeting these leaders.

Lalu Yadav has been serving jail term in four fodder scam related cases. The case pertains to illegal withdrawal of money from various treasuries when RJD was in power in Bihar.

The fodder scam case had surfaced in 1996 and a charge sheet against 38 persons was filed by the CBI on October 27, 1997. Lalu Yadav was made one of the main accused in the case.

The fifth cases relating to illegal withdrawal of Rs.139.39 crores from Doranda treasury is still pending with the court. Five fodder scam cases were shifted to Jharkhand after the separation of the state in 2001 while the trial in one case related to Bhagalpur treasury is going on in Patna CBI court.