Lalu gets bail, free to go home after treatment

The Jharkhand high court on Saturday granted bail to Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad in the Dumka treasury case, one of the three main cases in the multi-crore fodder scam, paving the way for his release from jail.

The high court has asked the 73-year-old leader to submit two sureties of ₹1 lakh each and a penalty of ₹10 lakh to secure his bail.

“The bench of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh granted bail to Prasad on the condition that he would furnish two sureties of ₹1 lakh each and ₹10 lakh fine amount before the court ,” said CBI’s counsel and assistant solicitor-general Rajiv Sinha.

Prasad’s counsel Prabhat Kumar said his client is likely to be released by Wednesday or Thursday next week. Devarshi Mandal, also a member of Prasad’s legal team, told PTI that they will move Special CBI court in Ranchi on Monday to seek his release.

The former Bihar chief minister, who was undergoing treatment at Ranchi’s Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences for two years, was shifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi in January.

Explaining the release procedure, Mandal said they have sent an application to Prasad for his signature, and will submit this to the CBI court here Monday along with the HC order. The CBI court will then send the order to Birsa Munda Jail in Ranchi, where Prasad was housed before being moved to a hospital. The Birsa Munda jail authorities will send the relevant papers to Tihar jail in Delhi, who will manage the release process, Mandal said.

Prasad has been languishing in jail since December 23, 2017, after his conviction in three fodder scam cases in quick succession. He secured bail in two cases on the grounds of completion of half the sentence period, and moved a bail plea in the third case on similar grounds.

The case is related to the fraudulent withdrawal of ₹3.76 crore from the Dumka treasury between December 1995 and January 1996. Prasad is facing trial in two more cases.

(With PTI inputs)