TAINTED PAST

A look back at the fodder scam

| The CBI registered a case, RC 20 (A) 96, against Lalu Prasad and 55 others on March 27, 1996. The case was registered following the Supreme Courts directions on March 19, 1996 | Earlier, a similar case was registered at

Chaibasa police station in Bihar on February 20, 1996. This was transferred to the CBI year 1994-1995 | On June 23, 1997, the CBI filed a charge | They withdrew money on the basis of forged sheet against all the accused, of which seven
died during the trial | Lalu was charged with Indian Penal Code & fabricated allotment letters and fake bills, raised without effecting the supply of any materials | Lalu allegedly conspired with other accused, including government officers, to cheat the exchequer. He tried to protect scamsters, providing them a protective umbrella and misused his power as a public servant. He allegedly tried to scuttle the investigation | He faces a punishment of minimum two years enough to get him disqualified from the Lok Sabha under SC directives | Lalu is charged under five other similar cases: RC 38(A)/96, RC 47(A)/96, RC 63(A)/96, RC 64(A)/96 , RC 68(A)/96; trial is underway | The RJD chief has been acquitted in a disproportionate assets case

sections: 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security or will), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) 477-A (falsification of accounts).
Charges under section 13 (2), read with 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, were also slapped on the former Bihar chief minister and others | The CBI proved before the court that the accused fraudulently withdrew ~37.7 crore from the Chaibasa treasury during the financial

Rise and fall of Lalu Prasad 1977: Elected to the 6th Lok Sabha on Janata
Party ticket at the age of 29, becoming the youngest member at that time

2000-2002: Member, Bihar Legislative

Assembly (fourth term)

1980-89: Member, Bihar Legislative Assembly

(1st term as JDS member, 2nd as Lok Dal member)

Apr 2002: Elected to Rajya Sabha 2004: Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha
(4th term)

Jan -Nov 89: Leader of Opposition, Bihar

Legislative Assembly

May 2004 - May 2009 :

Railway minister

1989: Re-elected to 9th Lok Sabha (2nd term

till April 1990, as Janata Dal member)

2009: Re-elected to 15th Lok

Sabha (5th term)

1990-98 : Member, Bihar Legislative Council 1990 - 1997: Chief minister, Bihar 1996 - 1997: National president, Janata Dal July 1997 onwards: Severed ties with the
Janata Dal and formed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Following the charge sheet, he was sent to jail. Made his wife, Rabri Devi, chief minister of Bihar

1998: Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (3rd term)

(Sources: Lok Sabha website, CBI, Lalu Prasads affidavit to the EC)