Patna: A designated CBI court on Monday began
the trial in the multi-crore fodder scam against 33 accused
including former chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Jagannath
Mishra here.
As the trial began before judge BK Srivastava, CBI
produced two witnesses Prithvi Raj Gaud and Mahesh Prasad who
had sanctioned and issued permission letters for prosecution
of some of the accused in fodder scam cases related to
withdrawal of crores of public money from the treasuries of
Banka and Bhagalpur between 1994 and 1996.
The CBI had registered a case under section various
sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Prasad,
Mishra and others in connection with fraudulent withdrawal of
Rs 46 lakhs from Banka and Bhagalpur treasuries.
The CBI had on March 31, 2003 chargesheeted 44 persons
before a special CBI court out of which the court had ordered
framing of charges against 33 on March 1, 2012 to clear the
decks for trial.
Prasad and others had, on August 18, 2011, had filed
applications before the designated CBI court seeking quashing
of charges against them which the court had rejected and later
ordered framing of charges against them.
PTI
First Published: Monday, April 02, 2012, 22:16