The fodder scam was unearthed about two decades ago in the undivided Bihar regime. There are a total of 64 cases that have been registered against politicians and bureaucrats. The scam involves them siphoning off crores of rupees in the name of purchasing and supplying livestock feed for about 20 years! The animal husbandry scam accuses Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra, both former chief ministers of Bihar of fraudulent withdrawals from the Chaibasa district treasury. Let us take a look at the timeline of events of this scam:

January 1996: The scam was found after Deputy Commissioner Amit Khare raided the Animal Husbandry Department. He found documents which showed siphoning of funds by non-existent companies in the name of supplying fodder.

March 1996: Patna High Court asked the CBI to look into the scam. The Supreme Court agreed on the order. The CBI registered an FIR in the Chaibasa (undivided Bihar) Treasury case.

June 1997: The CBI filed a charge sheet accusing Lalu Prasad Yadav and 55 others. A total of 63 cases were registered under IPC Sections 420 (forgery) and 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy) and Section 13 (b) of Prevention of Corruption Act.

July 1997: Lalu Prasad Yadav surrendered before the CBI and quit as the Chief Minister. He was sent to judicial custody.

April 1997: Rabri Devi’s name was also included in the charge sheet as co-accused. But she was granted bail. Yadav’s bail plea was rejected and he continued to be remanded in judicial custody.

October 2001: The scam was transferred to Jharkhand after the creation of a new state.

February 2002: Trial began in Special CBI court in Jharkhand.

December 2006: Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi were acquitted by CBI in the disproportionate assets case.

June 2007: The special CBI court in Ranchi sentenced more 58 people which included two nephews of Lalu Prasad. They got jail terms ranging from two-and-a-half years to six years for fraudulent withdrawals from the Chaibasa Treasury in the 1990s.

March 2012: Charges were framed against Lalu Yadav and Jagannath Mishra for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 47 lakh from treasuries at Banka and Bhagalpur districts. These two had faked bills by the Animal Husbandry Department.

August 2013: The Supreme Court rejected Lalu Yadav’s plea seeking the transfer of the trial court judge hearing the case.

September 2013: Lalu Yadav, Mishra, and 45 others were convicted by Special CBI Court. Lalu was sent to jail in Ranchi and was also disqualified as Lok Sabha member. The two cannot contest any elections for six years from the date of their release.

November 2014: CBI challenged the Jharkhand High Court’s order to quash the pending cases against Lalu Prasad. The Court said that a person convicted in one case could not be tried in similar cases based on same witnesses and evidence. The court upholded the CBI’s plea to continue proceedings in the trial court.

November 2016: The Supreme Court pulled up Mishra for allegedly dragging and delaying the CBI appeal which challenged the quashing of 4 pending fodder scam cases against him.

May 2017: The Supreme Court said that Lalu Prasad Yadav, Jagannath Mishra, and the other accused people will be tried separately in a criminal case. This case was about the withdrawal of Rs. 84.53 lakh and falsified records from Deoghar Treasury.

December 2017: The Special CBI court in Ranchi pronounced Lalu Prasad Yadav guilty in the Rs. 900 crore fodder scam case.

The fodder scam which took place about 20 years ago is still getting its final decision about 20 years later.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 04, 2018 07:06 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).