The chief of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Lalu Prasad Yadav was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Saturday and fined around Rs 60 lakh following conviction in the fourth fodder scam case.
It was on Monday that the former Bihar chief minister was held guilty in the case involving fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.5 crore from the Dumka treasury between 1991 and 1996.
Following the sentencing, Lalu’s son Tejashwi Yadav claimed that there was a threat to his father’s life.
“I fear for his life,” the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader told reporters asserting that, “He (Lalu Prasad) is the victim of a political conspiracy by BJP and JD(U).”
“The BJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are scared of him…. They do not want him to come out… because they know that PM Narendra Modi will not be able to realise his dream of a second term if Lalu Yadav comes out of jail,” Tejashwi added.
Earlier this week, the former Bihar chief minister was found guilty under 120-B (criminal conspiracy), read with 419, 420, 467, 468 (pertaining to cheating, forgery etc) of Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
The sentence was pronounced on Saturday by special CBI Judge Shivpal Singh via video-conferencing.