Wikipedia

Fodder Scam

The Fodder Scam was a corruption scandal that involved the embezzlement of about ₹940 crore (equivalent to ₹48 billion or US$570 million in 2023) from the government treasury of the north Indian state of Bihar.[1] Among those implicated in the theft and arrested were then Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav,[2] as well as former Chief Minister, Jagannath Mishra.[3][4] The scandal led to the end of Lalu's reign as Chief Minister.[5] Dineshwar Prasad Sharma is also alleged to have received ₹300.60 crore from S. N. Sinha. On 23 December 2017, Lalu Prasad Yadav was convicted by a special CBI court while Jagannath Misra was acquitted.[6]

The Fodder Scam involved hundreds of millions of dollars in alleged fraudulent reimbursements from the treasury of Bihar state for fodder, medicines and husbandry supplies for non-existent livestock.
Lalu Prasad Yadav, on the left, is the highest-profile person convicted in the fodder scam.

The theft spanned many years, and allegedly involved numerous administrative and elected officials of Bihar State across multiple administrations of the Indian National Congress and the Janata Dal parties. The corruption scheme involved the fabrication of "vast herds of fictitious livestock" for which fodder, medicines and animal husbandry equipment was supposedly procured.[1][7] Although the scandal broke in 1996, the theft had been in progress, and increased in size, for over two decades.[8] Besides the magnitude and duration of the theft, the scam was and continues to be covered in Indian media due to the extensive nexus between tenured bureaucrats, elected politicians and businesspeople that it revealed,[9] and as an example of the Mafia Raj that has penetrated several state-run economic sectors in the country.

As of May 2013, the trial was completed in 44 cases out of a total of 53 cases.[10] More than 500 accused have been convicted and awarded punishments by various courts.[11]

The scam

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The scam had its origins in small-scale embezzlement by some government employees submitting false expense reports, which grew in magnitude and drew additional elements, such as politicians and businesses, over time, until a full-fledged mafia had formed.[9] Jagannath Mishra, who served his first stint as the chief minister of Bihar in the mid-1970s, was the earliest chief minister to be accused of knowing involvement in the scam.[12]

In February 1985, the then Comptroller and Auditor General of India, T. N. Chaturvedi, took notice of delayed monthly account submissions by the Bihar state treasury and departments and wrote to the then Bihar chief minister, Chandrashekhar Singh, warning him that this could be indicative of temporary embezzlement.[13] This initiated a continuous chain of closer scrutiny and warnings by Principal Accountant Generals (PAGs) and CAGs to the Bihar government across the tenures of multiple chief ministers (cutting across party affiliations), but the warnings were ignored in a manner that was suggestive of a pattern by extremely senior political and bureaucratic officials in the Bihar government.[14] In 1992, Bidhu Bhushan Dvivedi, a police inspector with the state's anti-corruption vigilance unit submitted a report outlining the fodder scam and likely involvement at the chief ministerial level to the director general of the same vigilance unit, G. Narayan.[15][16] In alleged reprisal, Dvivedi was transferred out of the vigilance unit to a different branch of the administration, and then suspended from his position. He was later to be a witness as corruption cases relating to the scam went to trial, and reinstated by order of the Jharkhand High Court.

Exposure and investigation

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Bihar Veterinary Association for the first time exposed Animal Husbandry Mafia in its 1985 Press Conference. In 1990 the executive committee of Bihar Veterinary Association was changed and Dr Dinneshwar Prasad Sharma was made the General Secretary of BVA. Once the mafia had control over the association, they went all guns blazing. At that point, Dr. Dharmendra Sinha and Dr. Biresh Prasad Sinha (the ex-office bearers of BVA) started collecting and gathering information against this whole unethical practice of Mafia. They exposed this to all the political guns of Bihar. Among all these political guns was Sushil Kumar Modi who initiated the whole episode after it was broken out by V S Dubey.[17] The then charismatic yet 'native' leader Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Chief Minister of undivided Bihar, where the then finance commissioner V S Dubey stumbled upon the financial irregularities of a massive scale. In 1992, then Police Inspector Bidhu Bhushan Dvivedi who was with the state vigilance department submitted a detailed report highlighting the inclusion of high-profile persons including Chief Minister and others. His reports were ignored and he was transferred to another department and was slapped with multiple frivolous inquiries and suspension. He was also threatened by hurling bomb in his residence so as to stay away from participating investigations. Although the scam was later picked by other authorities and persons of interests. He was never given true credit for unearthing the biggest scam while being in a subordinate rank with true compassion and honesty.

On 19 January 1996, State Finance Secretary V S Dubey ordered district magistrates and deputy commissioners of all districts to go into cases of excessive withdrawals.[18] He followed it up on 20 January 1996 by despatching one of his additional secretaries to make an enquiry of the excessive drawls of money by Animal Husbandry department from Ranchi treasury.[19] The enquiry revealed a whole scale loot of government money; drawn fraudulently by forged documents. Then on 27 January 1996, the deputy commissioner of West Singhbhum district, Amit Khare, acted on direction from Vijai Shankar Dubey to conduct a raid on the offices of the animal husbandry department in the town of Chaibasa in the district under his authority. The documents his team seized, and went public with, conclusively indicated large-scale embezzlement by an organised mafia of officials and business people. The news of fodder scam was first broken out by Indian journalist Ravi S Jha, who working with the Asian Age then in Calcutta, named the then Bihar Chief Minister of having implicit involvement in the scam. Based on evidence collected by him from Chaibasa, Jha not only found out widespread involvement of Bihar government machinery in the scam, he even mentioned how earlier governments too were taking advantage of a shoddy system, where top government officials along with the ministers were flouting norms to make money illegally. Jha, an associate director of Public Affairs, is currently working with anti-corruption crusader and good governance promoter Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament.[14] Lalu ordered the constitution of a committee to probe the irregularities.[20]

There were fears that state police, which is accountable to the state administration, and the probe committee would not investigate the case vigorously, and demands were raised to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is under federal rather than state jurisdiction. Allegations were also made that several of the probe committee members were themselves complicit in the scam.[20] A public interest litigation was filed with the Supreme Court of India, which led to the court's involvement,[20] and based on the ultimate directions issued by the supreme court, in March 1996, the Patna High Court ordered that the case be handed over to the CBI.[21]

An inquiry by the CBI began and, within days, the CBI filed a submission to the High Court that Bihar officials and legislators were blocking access to documents that could reveal the existence of a politician-official-business mafia nexus at work.[22] Some legislators of the Bihar Legislative Council responded by claiming the court had been misinformed by the CBI and initiating a privilege motion to discuss possible action against senior figures in the regional headquarters of the CBI, which could proceed similar to a contempt of court proceeding and result in stalling the investigation or even prosecution of the named CBI officials.[22]

However, U. N. Biswas, the regional CBI director, and the other officials tendered an unqualified apology to the Legislative Council, the privilege motion was dropped, and the CBI probe continued.[22] As the investigation proceeded, the CBI unearthed linkages to the serving chief minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav and, on 10 May 1997, made a formal request to the federally-appointed Governor of Bihar to prosecute Lalu (who is often referred by his first name in Indian media).[23] On the same day, a businessman, Harish Khandelwal, who was one of the accused was found dead on train tracks with a note that stated that he was being coerced by the CBI to turn witness for the prosecution.[23] The CBI rejected the charge and its local director, U. N. Biswas, kept the appeal to the governor in place.[16][23] An Income Tax Investigation also blamed Lalu for the scam. On 8 May 2017, In a major set back for RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Supreme Court has ordered separate trials in all four cases registered against him in the Rs. 1000 crore fodder scam. The SC was hearing a CBI plea challenging the Jharkhand High Court's dropping of conspiracy charges against him. The SC asked the trial court to complete the trial in 9 months.

Path to prosecution

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A few days of uncertainty followed the CBI's request to the state governor to prosecute the chief minister. The governor, A. R. Kidwai, was accountable to the federal government, and had already stated that he would need to be satisfied that strong evidence against Lalu existed before he would permit a formal indictment to proceed.[24] The federal government, led by newly appointed prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral who had just succeeded the short-lived government of the previous prime minister H. D. Deve Gowda, consisted of a coalition that depended on support from federal legislators affiliated with Lalu for its survival.[16][25] It was also unclear why the CBI had sought the governor's consent in the first place and, when the High Court demanded to know why it was being sought, the CBI stated that it was a "precautionary measure."[26] The High Court, questioning the tactic, warned that it would allow some time for the permission to transpire, but if it sensed a delay, it would force a prosecution on its own authority.[26]

On 17 June, the governor gave permission for Lalu and others to be prosecuted.[27] Five senior Bihar government officials (Mahesh Prasad, science and technology secretary; K. Arumugam, labour secretary; Beck Julius, animal husbandry department secretary; Phoolchand Singh, former finance secretary; Ramraj Ram, former AHD director), the first four of whom were IAS officers, were taken into judicial custody on the same day.[28][29] The CBI also began preparing a chargesheet against Lalu to be filed in a special court. Expecting to be accused and imprisoned, Lalu filed an anticipatory bail petition, which the CBI opposed in a deposition to the court, listing the evidence against Lalu.[30] Also, on 21 June, fearing that evidence and documentation that might prove essential in further exposing the scam were being destroyed, the CBI conducted raids on Lalu's residence and those of some relatives suspected of complicity.[31]

On 23 June, the CBI filed chargesheets against Lalu and 55 other co-accused,[32] including Chandradeo Prasad Verma (a former union minister), Jagannath Mishra (former Bihar chief minister), two members of Lalu's cabinet (Bhola Ram Toofani and Vidya Sagar Nishad), three Bihar state assembly legislators (RK Rana of the Janata Dal, Jagdish Sharma of the Congress party, and Dhruv Bhagat of the Bharatiya Janata Party) and some current and former IAS officers (including the 4 who were already in custody).[29] Mishra was granted anticipatory bail by the Bihar state High Court.[33] Lalu's anticipatory bail petition, however, was rejected by the same court, and he appealed to the Supreme Court, which resulted in a final denial of bail on 29 July.[32] On the same day, Bihar state police were ordered to arrest him.[34] The next day, he was jailed.[35] Later, the Bihar Director General of Police, SK Saxena, justified the one-day delay in arresting Lalu by stating in court that "any precipitate action would have led to police firing and killing of a large number of people."[36]

End of Lalu's chief ministership

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As it became evident that Lalu would be engulfed in the scandal and its prosecution, demands for him to be removed from the chief ministership had gained momentum both from other parties,[37][38] as well as within Lalu's own party, the Janata Dal.[39] On 5 July, Lalu formally parted ways with the Janata Dal and formed his own party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (or RJD), taking with him virtually all the Janata Dal legislators in the Bihar state assembly,[40] and winning a vote of confidence in the state assembly a few days later.[41] The RJD continued to support the coalition federal government, however.[40] With demands for his resignation continuing to mount, on 25 July, Lalu resigned from his position, but was able to install his wife, Rabri Devi as the new chief minister on the same day. On 28 July 1997, Rabri's new government won another vote of confidence in the Bihar legislature by 194–110, thanks to the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha parties voting in alignment with the RJD.[42]

Lalu claimed he had been instrumental in helping HD Deve Gowda become the prime minister.[43] However, there was press speculation that Gowda held a grudge against Lalu for insisting that Gowda step down when Gowda's fledgling government ran into internal coalition squabbles, and this motivated him to push CBI Director Joginder Singh for Lalu's prosecution.[28][44] Much later, in 2008, Lalu also claimed that Deve Gowda confessed, and "wept and fainted," when Lalu confronted him on inciting the CBI to pursue the prosecution.[43] Looking retrospectively, Lalu has said that the scam had a lasting negative impact on his political career, and may have ended his prospects to one day be prime minister of India.[45]

There were reports that Joginder Singh had violated norms in keeping the new prime minister, IK Gujral, in the dark as he pursued the prosecution.[44] Gujral's own new government also depended on Lalu for support in parliament,[46] and Joginder Singh later alleged that Gujral had attempted to block the scam investigation from proceeding.[47][48] On 30 June, the federal government issued orders to transfer Singh out of the CBI and into the Home Ministry as a Special Secretary,[46] which was technically a promotion but also had the effect of removing him from the investigation.[49] There was also an alleged follow-on move to transfer U. N. Biswas, the regional CBI director, which led to the High Court warning that it would act to disallow any such transfer.[50]

Prosecution

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As the CBI discovered further evidence over the following years, it filed additional cases related to fraud and criminal conspiracy based on specific criminal acts of illegal withdrawals from the Bihar treasury. Most new cases filed after the division of Bihar state (into the new Bihar and Jharkhand states) in November 2000 were filed in the new Jharkhand High Court located in Ranchi, and several cases previously filed in the Patna High Court in Patna were also transferred to Ranchi. Of the 63 cases that the agency had filed by May 2007, the majority were being litigated in the Jharkhand High Court.[3][51]

Lalu's initial chargesheet, filed by the CBI on 27 April 1996, was against case RC 20-A/96, relating to fraudulent withdrawals of ₹370 million (US$4.4 million) from the Chaibasa treasury of the (then) Bihar government,[29] and was based on statutes including Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating) and 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), as well as section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.[52] Even though he had been jailed, he was kept in relative comfort at the Bihar Military Police guest house.[53] After 135 days in judicial custody, Lalu was released on bail on 12 December 1997.[54] The next year, on 28 October 1998, he was rearrested on a different conspiracy case relating to the fodder scam, at first being kept in the same guest house, but then being moved to Patna's Beur jail when the Supreme Court objected.[53][55] After being granted bail, he was rearrested yet again in a disproportionate assets case on 5 April 2000. His wife and then Chief Minister Rabri Devi was also asked to surrender on that date, but then immediately granted bail.[53] This stint in prison lasted 11 days for Lalu, followed by one day's imprisonment in another fodder scam case on 28 November 2000.[53]

Jagannath Mishra had been permitted bail in June 1997, and avoided judicial remand when Lalu was first detained in July 1997. However, he was taken into custody on 16 September of the same year. He was freed on bail on 13 October but then remanded again, at the same time as Lalu, on 28 October 1998, when he was kept at the same guest house as Lalu, and later shifted to Beur jail along with him.[55][56] Mishra was freed on bail on 18 December,[55] but then rearrested in a different fodder scam case on 7 June 2000.[4]

Due to the multiplicity of cases, Lalu Yadav, Jagannath Mishra, and the other accused have been remanded several times in the years since 2000. In 2007, 58 former officials and suppliers were convicted, and given terms of 5 to 6 years each.[55] As of May 2007, about 200 people had been punished with jail terms of between 2 and 7 years.[51] A 2005 litigation of one of the cases (RC 68-A/96) in the Jharkhand High Court involved over 20 truckloads of documents.[57]

On 1 March 2012, nearly 16 years after CBI was handled over the case, a special CBI court in Patna framed charges against Lalu Prasad Yadav and Jagannath Mishra along with 32 other accused. Of the total 44 accused, six have died, two have turned approvers, while two others are still evading arrest. The CBI had chargesheeted them in this case on 3 March 2003. The court said that the trial would begin soon.[58][59][60]

Disproportionate assets case

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A disproportionate assets (DA) case was filed against Lalu in August 1998. The Income Tax claimed that Lalu had amassed wealth of Rs. 4.6 million out of the government treasury. Lalu and Rabri were chargesheeted in April 2000 and charges were framed by the court on 9 June 2000. Finally, the couple was acquitted on 18 December 2006 by a special CBI court.[61]

CBI didn't appeal against this verdict in high court. However, Government of Bihar challenged the verdict (of CBI court) in Patna High Court and the high court accepted the plea.[62] This verdict of Patna High Court was challenged by Lalu and the CBI in SC.[63] The SC in April 2010 declared that the Government of Bihar has no right to file appeal against acquittal of the accused even in cases where the CBI refuses to challenge the trial court or High Court's verdict favouring the accused.[64]

In yet another twist in the case, Government of Chhattisgarh in an unrelated case requested the Supreme Court to review its verdict in Lalu Yadav Disproportionate assets case. The Government of Chhattisgarh was aggrieved by Supreme Court verdict in DA case when it was trying to challenge the acquittal of former chief minister Ajit Jogi's son Amit Jogi in a murder case. After the trial court in Chhattisgarh acquitted Amit Jogi in May 2007, for over three-and-a-half years, the CBI again (similar to Lalu's DA case) did not file any appeal. Chhattisgarh High Court rejected Government of Chhattisgarh's appeal due to Supreme Court's order (which is binding on all) in Lalu Disproportionate assets case. On 19 March 2012, the Supreme Court agreed to review its own decision in Lalu's Disproportionate assets case.[65] However, in May 2012, Supreme Court dismissed the Review Petition holding that the earlier Judgment did not suffer from any mistake apparent on the face of the record warranting any review.[66] On 6 January 2018, the CBI Court has awarded Lalu a three-and-a-half-year jail term and five-lakh fine.

Convictions

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See also: Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988; Indian Penal Code; and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

As of May 2013, the trial has completed in 44 cases out of a total of 53 cases.[10] More than 500 accused have been convicted and awarded punishments by various courts. Some of the most prominent convicts include former CM of Bihar Lalu Prasad,[67] former Member of Parliament Rabindra Kumar Rana and former Member of Legislative Assembly Dhruv Bhagat.[11]

On 30 September 2013, a Special CBI Court in Ranchi convicted Lalu Prasad Yadav and Jagannath Mishra along with 44 others in the case. Thirty-seven people were taken into judicial custody. The court has announced a sentence of five years and four years for Lalu and Jagannath Mishra, respectively.[68]

Sentence

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Former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad was sentenced to five years in jail in a fodder scam case by a special CBI court on 3 October 2013. The court of Pravas Kumar Singh announced the quantum of punishment via video conference due to security reasons. Prasad has also been slapped with a fine of Rs 2.5 million. The 65-year-old leader has lost his Lok Sabha seat and is also barred from contesting election for six years following the sentencing due to an earlier Supreme Court order.

Another former Bihar chief minister, Jagannath Mishra, has been handed a 4-year sentence.[69]

Impact

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Since it broke into public light, the fodder scam has become symbolic of bureaucratic corruption and the criminalisation of politics in India generally, and in Bihar in particular. It has been called a symptom of a "deep and chronic malady afflicting the Bihar government and quite a few other state governments as well."[70] In the Indian parliament, it was cited as an important indicator of the deep inroads made by Mafia Raj in the politics and economics of the country.[71] Reference has also been made to the anarchic nature of governance (the "withering away of the state") that occurs when a mafia develops in a state-controlled sector of the economy.[72]

The investigation and prosecution in the Fodder Scam has said to be guided by the political consideration and motive. For making a strong against case against the politicians and the bureaucrats, CBI launched the prosecution against majority of the officials including lower level staffs, which did not have any nexus with the scam. Many employees of the department were suspended and sentenced by the Courts, against whom there were evidence or direct involvement in the scam.[73] The rationale given in the judgement for such penalty was their posting or deputation in the offices from where the scams were conducted, without any direct involvement in the scams.[74] Due to this the family members of many employees were left without any option for earning. The trail which was started in 1996 is still in process and the fate of many innocent people has been hanging without a certainty.[citation needed]

Lalu Prasad Yadav is the only person on whom the Lok Sabha debated for a complete session as the official agenda.[75]

As of now, Lalu Prasad Yadav has been awarded a three-and-a-half-year jail term and a five-lakh fine by the CBI court on 6 January 2018.

On 24 January 2018 the court passed judgement for the third case and has awarded a five-year jail term and imposed a fine of ₹10,00,000/- (INR One Million) on Lalu Prasad Yadav. The total jail term in the three judgement sentences amount to 13½ years.[76]

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In 2021, Indian web series Maharani was loosely based on this scam and subsequently Rabri Devi was made the Chief Minister of Bihar.[77][78]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b 'Fodder Scam' Could Bring Down a Shaky Indian Government, The New York Times, 1997-07-02. Accessed 2008-10-29. "... the scandal, said to involve $285 million, occurred in one of the country's poorest regions, the eastern state of Bihar. The money, which is reported to have been stolen over nearly 20 years, came from agricultural support programs aimed mainly at helping the 350 million Indians who live in extreme poverty ..."
  2. ^ "How the fodder scam has proved to be Lalu Prasad's Waterloo".
  3. ^ a b "Fodder scam: Charges framed against Lalu", Outlook India, 17 May 2005, archived from the original on 18 April 2009, retrieved 4 November 2008, Snippet: ... The CBI has filed chargesheets in sixty cases, of which 53 are being tried in the courts at Ranchi and seven in Patna ...
  4. ^ a b "Jail for Bihar politician", BBC, 7 June 2000, retrieved 5 November 2008, Snippet: ... Former chief minister of the northern state of Bihar, Jagannath Mishra, has been remanded in judicial custody in a multi-million dollar fodder scam ...
  5. ^ "What is the fodder scam: A look at what all has happened since 1996". 8 May 2017.
  6. ^ "fodder scam verdict: Lalu Prasad convicted in second fodder scam case; RJD to appeal in HC - The Economic Times". economictimes.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
  7. ^ Lok Sabha, "Lok Sabha Debates, ser.11 Aug 26–30 1997 v.17 no.18-23", Lok Sabha Secretariat, Lok Sabha (House of the People), Parliament of India, 1999. Snippet: ... The leakages are such that no benefit is accruing to the intended beneficiaries. There is a lot of corruption, not only under this Government's rule, but it has been there for quite a long time. But of late, because of the financial problem, corruption has increased appallingly. There is also the Letter of Credit scandal which is a kind of a younger sister of the chara-ghotala of Bihar. This scandal also relates to the Animal Husbandry Department, but the CBI is dragging its feet ...
  8. ^ Stifling dissent: PM’s lost kavach, The Tribune, 2002-01-22. Accessed 2008-10-31. "... Laloo has never been the kingpin but was one of the main beneficiaries of the fake purchase and distribution of the non-existent fodder for about two decades ..."
  9. ^ a b क्या है चारा घोटाला? What is the fodder scam?, BBC, 2001-12-14. Accessed 2008-10-29. "... सीबीआई के अनुसार, राज्य के ख़ज़ाने से पैसा कुछ इस तरह निकाला गया- पशुपालन विभाग के अधिकारियों ने चारे, पशुओं की दवा आदि की सप्लाई के मद में करोड़ों रूपए के फ़र्जी बिल कोषागारों से वर्षों तक नियमित रूप से भुनाए. (According to the CBI, animal husbandry officials pilfered crores of rupees from the state treasury by filing bogus expense reports for fodder, medicines and other animal supplies) ... सीबीआई का कहना रहा है कि ये सामान्य आर्थिक भ्रष्टाचार का नहीं बल्कि व्यापक षड्यंत्र का मामला है जिसमें राज्य के कर्मचारी, नेता और व्यापारी वर्ग समान रूप से भागीदार है. मामला सिर्फ़ राष्ट्रीय जनता दल तक सीमित नहीं रहा. इस सिलसिले में बिहार के एक और पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री डॉक्टर जगन्नाथ मिश्र को गिरफ़्तार किया गया. राज्य के कई और मंत्री भी गिरफ़्तार किए गए. ... (This is not a normal case of economic corruption, says the CBI, but rather a pervasive conspiracy to steal in which state bureaucrats, elected leaders, and businesspeople were equal accomplices. Culpability is not limited to the Rashtriya Janata Dal party. A prior chief minister of Bihar, Dr. Jagannath Mishra, has also been arrested as have other state ministers.) ..."
  10. ^ a b "Ex-MP, former Bihar MLA among 10 people convicted in fodder scam". IBN. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Former RJD MP RK Rana convicted in multi-crore fodder scam". The Times of India. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  12. ^ "Mishra pleads against fresh prosecution", The Tribune, 29 October 1998, retrieved 31 October 2008, Snippet: ... The former Bihar Chief Minister, Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mr. Jagannath Mishra, were today remanded in judicial custody till tomorrow after a designated court rejected their prayers for a provisional bail on adjournment of hearing for regular bail in a conspiracy angle case of the fodder scam ...
  13. ^ "Fodder scam: AG denies lapses", The Tribune, 8 July 2000, retrieved 31 October 2008, Snippet: ... Comptroller and Accountant General (CAG), Mr T.N.Chaturvedi in a letter to former Bihar Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Singh on 11 February 1985, had pointed out the delay in submission of the monthly account by the treasuries and work divisions ...
  14. ^ a b "Anatomy of a scam", Rediff, 18 June 1997, retrieved 31 October 2008, Snippet: ... The Rs 9.5 billion fodder scam in Bihar came to light on 27 January 1996 at Chibasa in South Bihar when then deputy commissioner of the district Amit Khare ordered his officials to raid the office of the animal husbandry department ...
  15. ^ Joginder Singh, "Inside CBI", Chandrika Publications, 1999, ISBN 81-87431-00-8.
  16. ^ a b c "Once there was a scam…", Indian Express, 15 July 2008, retrieved 31 October 2008
  17. ^ "Fodder scam under Lalu Prasad Yadav: When cattle rode a scooter, oil purchased to polish buffalo horns". Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  18. ^ The Hindu Net Desk (8 May 2017). "The fodder scam: a recap". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  19. ^ "Lalu Prasad Yadav convicted in fodder scam: How a one line fax unearthed corruption scandal, unseated ex-Bihar CM - Firstpost". www.firstpost.com. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  20. ^ a b c "CBI convicted 64 in fodder scam", Merinews, 16 July 2008, retrieved 1 November 2008
  21. ^ "NDA Ministers Want Rabri Out", India Today Magazine, 21 May 2001, archived from the original on 24 September 2015, retrieved 1 November 2008
  22. ^ a b c "Privilege move against CBI in fodder scam dropped", Indian Express, 7 June 1997, retrieved 1 November 2008, Snippet: ... the Bihar Legislative Council today dropped privilege proceedings against five Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials, including its Joint Director (East) U. N. Biswas, following '`their unqualified apology over the allegation of '`non-cooperation by the Council in connection with the Rs 950-crore fodder scam ... the CBI had on 28 March last made a submission in the court for a direction to the Council secretary to provide certain documents said to be relevant to unfold the conspiracy aspect of the scam as '`request to this effect was turned down on the plea that they are privileged documents' ...
  23. ^ a b c "CBI seeks governor's nod for Laloo's prosecution", Rediff, 10 May 1997, retrieved 31 October 2008, Snippet: ... The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday approached Bihar Governor A R Kidwai for seeking sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav ...
  24. ^ "Nod for Laloo's prosecution only if there's strong evidence: Bihar governor", Rediff, 9 May 1997, retrieved 31 October 2008
  25. ^ Burns, John F. (20 April 1997), "India Coalition Picks a Premier To End Crisis", The New York Times, retrieved 2 November 2008, Snippet: ... India's coalition Government ended three weeks of political turmoil today by naming as the country's new Prime Minister Inder K. Gujral ... Mr. Gujral, 77, was a surprising choice after days of maneuvering between the 14-party coalition Government and the Congress Party ...
  26. ^ a b "HC seeks time-frame in fodder scam trial", Indian Express, 18 May 1997, retrieved 2 November 2008, Snippet: ... "Suppose the Governor does not decide within one year, should the High Court be a silent spectator?" the court said. "The sanctioning authorities must realise the import of the case and come up with the sanction at the earliest." ... Though the CBI counsel tried to clarify that Governor's permission was resorted to as a precautionary measure, the court said, "What precaution? If any authority tries to delay, the court will be well within its jurisdiction to give the direction." "We are not drawing any inference. But we simply want a yes or no from them. Don't keep the issue pending for long," the court said. ...
  27. ^ "Kidwai sanctions prosecution of Laloo, 55 others", Business Standard, 18 June 1997, retrieved 31 October 2008
  28. ^ a b "Countdown begins for Laloo's dethronement", Indian Express, 18 June 1997, retrieved 2 November 2008, Snippet: ... Within the JD, there is no love lost between Laloo and the former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda. There is considerable rancour between the two for the role Laloo played in dislodging the latter from the Prime Minister's post. ... Five senior Bihar officials – including one retired officer and three serving officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) – arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Rs 9.50 billion fodder scam, were today remanded to judicial custody for eight days. ...
  29. ^ a b c "Laloo charged, stay on arrest declined", Indian Express, 24 June 1997, retrieved 4 November 2008, Snippet: ... The case – RC 20 (A/96) – was registered on 27 April 1996, by the CBI on the orders of the Supreme Court and the Patna High Court. It involved fraudulent withdrawals to the tune of around Rs 370 million during 1994–95 from the Chaibasa treasury on the basis of fake bills from suppliers and fake supply orders. ...
  30. ^ "CBI opposes Laloo's bail plea", Indian Express, 21 June 1997, retrieved 1 November 2008, Snippet: ... Even as investigating officials and legal officers were dotting their I's and crossing their T's on the chargesheet in the CBI office here, counsel Ansari told the court that the investigating agency has strong evidence of not merely Laloo's connivance in the fodder scam but also his master-minding it ...
  31. ^ "CBI raids Laloo's home", The Indian Express, 22 June 1997, retrieved 1 November 2008, Snippet: ... Laloo's ancestral house and residences of his in-laws in Gopalganj and Siwan districts were raided. According to CBI sources, the raids in Mirganj, Fulwaria and Saraikala yielded some incriminating documents and a huge amount of cash. The fathers-in-law of Laloo's two brothers-in-law were arrested.On a tip-off that documents related to the scam were being shifted, a team of nearly fifty sleuths left for Laloo's ancestral village yesterday night. ...
  32. ^ a b "Spoils of Surrender", India Today Magazine, 9 November 1998, retrieved 1 November 2008
  33. ^ "Mishra gets bail, Laloo moves HC", Indian Express, 28 June 1997, retrieved 5 November 2008, Snippet: ... in the first information report nothing has been said about Mishra ... Besides, he has been suffering from several ailments ...
  34. ^ "India Police Order Arrest of Politician in Scandal", The New York Times, 30 July 1997, retrieved 31 October 2008
  35. ^ "Indian Official Jailed on Corruption Charges", The New York Times, 31 July 1997, retrieved 31 October 2008
  36. ^ "DGP defends 'non-cooperation'", Indian Express, 13 August 1997, retrieved 1 November 2008, Snippet: ... At 11.45 pm Kaul phoned the DGP seeking adequate security for execution of the warrant, but intelligence reports emanating from the chief minister's residence said a large number of media persons and ruling party supporters had gathered inside the premises ...
  37. ^ "BJP urges Sharma to dismiss Laloo government", Indian Express, 18 June 1997, archived from the original on 21 April 2009, retrieved 2 November 2008
  38. ^ "CPI asks Governor to sack Laloo govt", Business Standard, 2 July 1997, retrieved 31 October 2008
  39. ^ "Laloo should resign if charge-sheeted: Patel", Indian Express, 26 May 1997, retrieved 2 November 2008
  40. ^ a b "Laloo breaks JD, forms new party", Indian Express, 6 July 1997, retrieved 2 November 2008
  41. ^ "Laloo puts the smile back on Soren, Mandal's face", Indian Express, 22 July 1997, retrieved 2 November 2008, Snippet: ... Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leaders Shibu Soren and Suraj Mandal ... Their rehabilitation inarguably has a lot to do with the role the 18 MLA-strong JMM played in helping the Laloo Prasad Yadav Government survive the 15 July no-confidence motion ... In an apparent quid pro quo for their support, Laloo, who once claimed that a Jharkhand state could only be carved out in Bihar over his dead body, has elevated Soren ... it appears that a resolution for the formation of a Jharkhand state will feature in the Bihar Assembly on Tuesday ...
  42. ^ "Rabri wins trust vote", Indian Express, 29 July 1997, retrieved 1 November 2008, Snippet: ... The Bihar Assembly was plunged into laughter when Rabri Devi said that she was prepared to shift her husband, Laloo Prasad Yadav, out of her official residence and to the house of opposition leader, Sushil Kumar Modi. "You are my elder brother ..... I am prepared to shift my husband to your house," she told Modi when he said that Yadav should not be allowed to stay at the Chief Minister's residence following filing of chargesheet against him in the fodder scam. ...
  43. ^ a b "PM Gowda wept, fainted when I confronted him over fodder case: Lalu", Indian Express, 4 August 2008, retrieved 2 November 2008, Snippet: ... He told Joginder Singh, the then Director of CBI to file a chargesheet against me... I went to him at his 7, Race Course Road residence and told him, "Why are you hanging me? I will not be able to work in Bihar'. He was rude and I was also hyper. We said a lot of bad things to each other. He started weeping and fainted." ... "I made him the Prime Minister and paid for it. By choosing him, I made a mistake." ...
  44. ^ a b "Is Joginder taking political advantage of the CBI", Indian Express, 5 May 1997, retrieved 1 November 2008, Snippet: ... It is also odd that Joginder Singh did not inform the new Prime Minister about what he was about to do. No doubt, the CBI has been asked to function under the direct supervision of the courts in certain sensitive cases. But surely the Prime Minister, who heads the CBI and who as the country's executive head should not be caught by surprise by any action of any wing of the government ... Laloo believes that Deve Gowda is using the CBI chief to get at him, and that Gowda's kitchen cabinet, C M Ibrahim, Ram Vilas Paswan and Shrikant Jena, sold him the idea. (Gowda has not forgiven Laloo and others for demanding he step down before the Vote of Confidence.) ...
  45. ^ "Fodder scam cost me dear: Lalu", The Times of India, 20 December 2006, archived from the original on 22 October 2012, retrieved 1 November 2008, Snippet: ... "I have suffered a lot due to the fodder scam – politically and personally. The state has also suffered. But I have no grievance against anybody. Post-fodder scam, I realised that 'I cannot become the PM of the country'. Therefore, I made PMs. A lot of my aides and friends left me." ... But Lalu, the politician soon took over from an emotional Lalu. "As of now, my plan to become PM stands postponed. Manmohanji is a popular PM and a gentleman to boot. I will continue to support him even after the completion of the five-year term. I am a trusted ally of the Congress." ...
  46. ^ a b "Gujral sends Joginder Home", Indian Express, 1 July 1997, retrieved 2 November 2008, Snippet: ... In a move which is seen as a desperate ploy by Prime Minister I K Gujral to avert a split in the Janata Dal and woo Laloo Prasad Yadav, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director Joginder Singh was today shifted to the Union Home Ministry as Special Secretary. ...
  47. ^ "Fodder scam: Gujral tried to stall probe, says Joginder", Indian Express, 18 December 1998, retrieved 1 November 2008, Snippet: ... The former CBI director virtually accuses Gujral of trying to stymie the investigations in the fodder scam in an effort to shield Laloo Prasad Yadav. ...
  48. ^ "Gujral told me to go slow on Laloo: ex-CBI chief", The Tribune, 27 April 2005, retrieved 1 November 2008, Snippet: ... "Mr Gujral told me that Mr Laloo is from my party, don't arrest him. If you want to go ahead with the proceedings, go ahead, but don't arrest him." Mr Joginder Singh further added that "the matter didn't stop there and he got another call from the then Home Minister, Mr Indrajit Gupta, asking him go slow and save himself and his job." ...
  49. ^ "No more CBI transfers: Gujral", Indian Express, 1 July 1997, retrieved 2 November 2008, Snippet: ... Prime Minister I K Gujral, today said the transfer of outgoing CBI Joginder Singh, was a routine one on promotion, and assured that no further transfer in the department was in the offing ...
  50. ^ "HC against shunting Biswas", Indian Express, 5 August 1997, retrieved 2 November 2008, Snippet: ... The Patna High Court today said it will take "proper steps" in the event of the transfer of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Joint Director (East) U. N. Biswas, heading the agency team probing the fodder scam. ...
  51. ^ a b "Fodder scam case: 58 convicted, given jail terms", Times of India, 31 May 2007, archived from the original on 1 May 2009, retrieved 5 November 2008, Snippet: ... A total 63 cases were registered in the scam and 41 were transferred to Jharkhand after it was created from Bihar in November 2000 ... The CBI has filed charge sheets in almost every case and trials are under progress. Till now the special CBI court has passed judgment in 16 cases and nearly 200 accused in different cases have been punished with two to seven years imprisonment ...
  52. ^ "Rabri granted bail, Laloo sent to jail", The Tribune, 6 April 2000, retrieved 4 November 2008, Snippet: ... The Judge framed the charges in the case no. RC 20-A/96 of the Rs 950-crore scam under Sections 420, 467, 468, 437 (A) and 120 (B) of the IPC, besides under Section 13(1) read with 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. ...
  53. ^ a b c d "The ride to Ranchi", Frontline Magazine, 8–21 December 2001, archived from the original on 29 December 2001, retrieved 5 November 2008, Snippet: ... He was lodged at the Bihar Military Police guest house in Patna. On 28 October 1998, Laloo Prasad was detained for 73 days ... after the Supreme Court took exception to his being lodged there, he was shifted to the Beur jail ... The third incarceration which began on 5 April 2000, in connection with a disproportionate assets case ...{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  54. ^ "Detained ex-Bihar chief minister freed on bail", Press Trust of India, 12 December 1997, Snippet: ... Laloo Prasad Yadav was released from prison on Friday after 135 days of judicial custody ... freed after he furnished a bail-bond of 100,000 rupees and two sureties of the same amount ... The Patna high court granted bail ... case involves the fraudulent withdrawal of over 370 million rupees from government funds ...
  55. ^ a b c d "Laloo gets interim bail", Indian Express, 7 January 1999, retrieved 5 November 2008, Snippet: ... The Supreme Court today granted interim bail to former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and five other accused ... The apex court on 18 December had granted bail to former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra ... had expressed serious concern over the preferential treatment given to Yadav and Mishra by the Bihar Government, which had lodged them at a guest house after notifying it as a jail. The court had ordered their shifting to Beur Central Jail in Patna ... and sought a compliance report from the Inspector General of Prisons ...
  56. ^ "Laloo & Mishra in judicial custody", Indian Express, 29 October 1998, retrieved 5 November 2008, Snippet: ... The designated special CBI court today remanded former Chief Ministers of Bihar Laloo Prasad Yadav and Jagannath Mishra along with four others to judicial custody till tomorrow after inconclusively hearing their regular bail petitions ...
  57. ^ "Lalu, 69 others, charged in fodder scam", Onlypunjab.com, 26 April 2005, archived from the original on 8 July 2011, Snippet: ... Besides Lalu Prasad ... Charges were also framed against former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra, former MP Rajo Singh, former Bihar animal husbandry minister Vidyasagar Nishad, former central minister Chandradeo Prasad Verma, four bureaucrats of the Indian Administrative Service,veterinary doctors and other government officials. There are 20 truckloads of documents in the case ...
  58. ^ "CBI court frames charges against Lalu, others in fodder scam". Rediff News. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
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  70. ^ "Economic and Political Weekly", Economic and Political Weekly, 1997, retrieved 5 November 2008, Snippet: ... The fodder scam is a small symptom of a deep and chronic malady afflicting the Bihar government and quite a few other state governments as well ...
  71. ^ Lok Sabha Secretariat, "Lok Sabha Debates ser.11 Jul 29 1997 v.15 no.5", Lok Sabha (House of the People), Parliament of India, 1997. ... mafia raj in India. The whole country is now being carried by a sinking boat of corruption. Bihar is simply a part; a simple compartment of this sinking boat of corruption. The whole affairs of Bihar should be judged in this fashion and not with any bias and political malice ...
  72. ^ N.S. Gehlot (2002), New Challenges to Indian Politics: Coalition Politics and Elections, Population Explosion, Women and Human Rights, Foreign Policy, Constitution, Judiciary and Recent Developments, Deep & Deep Publications, ISBN 978-81-7629-401-0, Snippet: ... The very basis of the recommendation was that not merely the law and order situation had deteriorated in Bihar, the state had withered away. The Mafia raj prevailed there. ...
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Sources

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