Abrar Hussain

An Indian court on Saturday sentenced former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad to 3.5 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs 10 lakh in a 21-year-old case of fraudulent withdrawal of funds from a government treasury. Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge Shivpal Singh handed the 15 other convicts jail terms ranging from 3.5 to the maximum seven years, and fines of between five and 10 lakh rupees. “Rather than practising BJP’s Simple Rule – “Follow us or We will Fix you”. I will die happily fixing myself for Social justice, harmony & equality,” Prasad tweeted shortly after the verdict. The 3.5 year jail term means that the 69-year-old Prasad cannot immediately apply for bail in the lower court and must wait until the high court hears his petition. “We will move an appeal-cum-bail petition before the high court challenging the order of conviction,” Prasad’s lawyer Prabhat Kumar said. Prasad didn’t utter a single word throughout the hearing. On December 23, the court held Prasad guilty of corruption, cheating and criminal conspiracy in connection with the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from the Deoghar treasury during 1991-1994 on the pretext of buying fodder. -Source: Hindustan Times