The Rashtriya Janata Dal on Tuesday denied media reports that claimed that two of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s aides were sent to a Ranchi prison to “serve” him, PTI reported.
Several reports said Lakshman Mahto and Madan Yadav had been sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail to serve Yadav as helper and cook, just hours before Yadav was lodged there following his conviction in the fodder scam on December 23.
The RJD has, however, said that the presence of Mahto and Madan Yadav –
who were arrested on charges of minor offences – in the jail was only “coincidental”. RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said those who are levelling the allegations should show footage or some evidence to back the accusations.
Earlier on Tuesday, Yadav had told News18, “Media is targeting Lalu for their benefit. I am not aware that Mahato and Madan Yadav are serving Lalu inside the jail. I don’t know anything.”
The Janata Dal (United) accused Yadav of having a “feudal mindset”. “This shows that Lalu Prasad’s commitment to social justice is a sham and he cares only for himself and his family members,” JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, according to PTI.
A court of the Central Bureau of Investigation on January 6 sentenced Yadav to three years and six months in jail in the fodder scam. The case is connected with the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 84.5 lakh from the Deoghar district treasury between 1994 and 1996 when Yadav was Bihar’s chief minister. The scam – exposed in 1996 – involved around Rs 1,000 crore being embezzled from the state exchequer to purchase fictitious medicines and fodder for cattle between 1990 and 1997.
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