16 sent to jail in fodder scam case

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in the Jharkhand capital Wednesday awarded four to seven years of rigorous imprisonment to 16 convicts in the multi-million rupee fodder scam in Bihar’s animal husbandry department.
Special CBI judge Pankaj Kumar also slapped fines between Rs.50,000 and Rs.500,000 on the convicts in the case regarding fraudulent withdrawal of Rs.110.9 million (Rs.11.09 crore) from the Doranda treasury of Ranchi in the early 1990s.

The CBI court had Tuesday convicted 48 accused for withdrawing the amount by producing fake bills and nine convicts were awarded three-year imprisonment.

Remaining convicts would be sentenced Thursday.

Sixty-one cases were lodged by the CBI in relation to the fodder scam, which surfaced in 1996. Of them, 53 were transferred to Jharkhand after it was carved out of Bihar in November 2000.

According to CBI sources, government officials swindled more than Rs.9.5 billion in the name of fodder with help of fake suppliers and politicians.

Till now, special CBI courts have pronounced their judgements in 30 cases and more than 230 accused have been convicted.

Former railways minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra were accused in five fodder scam cases.link

Bihar police intensify efforts to nab murder-accused JD-U leader

Bihar police have set up a special team to nab Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Vijay Krishna and his son Chanakya, prime accused in the abduction and murder of a Patna businessman whose decomposed body was found floating in the Ganges river two days ago.

Satyendra Kumar Singh, 50, was abducted in the last week of May. His decomposed body was found floating in the river on Thursday.

Mr. Krishna, a former MP, and his son are absconding.

"Police are doing everything to arrest them and raids are continuing," Patna Senior Superintendent of Police R. Mallar Vizhi said on Saturday, adding the police team could even go outside the state to arrest the two.

Singh's wife Laxmi Devi and daughter Sweety have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the killing.

A police officer, requesting anonymity, said the property of Mr. Krishna and Mr. Chanakya would be attached if they continue to evade arrest or fail to surrender.

A local court issued orders to attach the property on Friday.

The Patna civil court on Tuesday refused anticipatory bail to Mr. Krishna and his son after hearing their petition. The court also directed the police to submit the diary of the case within the next 15 days.

Mr. Krishna filed an anticipatory bail petition on Monday claiming that he was being falsely implicated.

Singh's family has alleged that the delay in arresting the accused was due to political "pressure" as the two were considered close to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.link