A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Ranchi on Monday convicted former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in one of the six fodder scam cases against him, ANI reported. But it acquitted former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra in the case.

The case relates to the withdrawal of around Rs 3.5 crore, allegedly fraudulently, from Dumka district’s treasury when Yadav was chief minister.

Yadav, the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief, has been lodged in Birsa Munda Jail in Ranchi since a CBI court convicted him in three other fodder scam cases. He already faces more than 13 years in jail.

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Yadav was hospitalised on Saturday in Ranchi after he complained of chest pain.

His wife Rabri Devi said the family will follow the court’s order and not leave Bihar. “However, we are also going to appeal in the court,” she told ANI. “He wasn’t keeping well. He shouldn’t have been called before court in such a condition.”

Fodder scam cases

The cases pertain to allegedly fraudulent withdrawals from the treasuries of multiple districts in Bihar when Yadav was chief minister. Around Rs 1,000 crore was embezzled from the state exchequer for the purchase of fictitious medicines and fodder for cattle between 1990 and 1997. The fourth case involves the fraudulent withdrawal of around Rs 3.5 crore from the Dumka district’s treasury when Yadav was chief minister.

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On January 24, a Ranchi court had convicted Yadav in a case connected to the withdrawal of Rs 33.67 crore from the Chaibasa district treasury in 1992-’93. He was sentenced to five years in jail. In two earlier cases, he was sentenced to five years, and three-and-a-half years in prison.

Chaibasa is now in the state of Jharkhand. A Jharkhand court rejected Yadav’s bail plea in February. His family has claimed that the verdicts are part of a conspiracy orchestrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party against him.