Lalu Prasad appears before CBI court in fodder scam case

Patna : Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad on Monday appeared before a designated Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in response to a summon in connection with the multi-crore fodder scam.

CBI judge Vimal Kumar Jain had on August 18 directed Prasad and others for personal appearance in the fodder scam case in which Rs 46 lakh was allegedly fraudulently withdrawn from Banka and Bhagalpur treasuries between 1990 and 1997 when Lalu was the chief minister.

The court will now hear the petitions filed by accused for exoneration of charges levelled against them in CBI charge-sheet in the scam

Prasad, now a MP and chief of Rashritya Janata Dal (RJD), was accompanied by his lawyer Chitranjan Sinha when he reached the court for listing his personal appearance early Monday morning.

Among others who were summoned for personal appearance are former chairman of the public accounts committee of the Bihar Assamebly Jagdish Sharma, former RJD MP RK Rana, former minister Vidya Sagar Nishad.

Several former IAS officers have also been named in the CBI charge-sheet.