A Central Bureau of Investigation court in Ranchi on Thursday sentenced former Jharkhand minister Dulal Bhuiyan to five years in jail in connection with a disproportionate assets case, PTI reported.
Judge Anil Kumar Mishra also fined Bhuiyan Rs 10 lakh, and said he would have to spend one more year in prison if he fails to pay it.
The CBI filed the First Information Report against the minister in 2013 following a directive of the Jharkhand High Court. The investigation revealed that Bhuyan possessed assets worth Rs 1.03 crore, an amount disproportionate to his known sources of income.
A year later, the agency filed the chargesheet, alleging that the minister had purchased land in a few places in Ranchi and Jamshedpur with the money he had earned between March 2005 and September 2009, when he was the land and revenue minister in the Shibu Soren and Madhu Koda governments. The CBI produced 21 witnesses during the trial, Live Hindustan reported.
Bhuiyan left the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha ahead of the 2014 Assembly elections and joined the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha. He then joined the BJP before moving on to the Congress. He will be lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.
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