Lalu Yadav, 69, has been jailed for three-and-a-half years in fodder scam case.
Highlights
- Lalu Yadav's two helpers got into jail just before he walked in
- The two have got bail, police called theft case against them false
- Mr Yadav's aide used same trick earlier to make sure he had help in jail
Lalu Yadav's two helpers found it easy to get into jail just before their boss walked in after being sentenced in a fodder scam case last week. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't make it stick. Laxman Mahto and Madan Yadav have been granted bail by a court in Jharkhand's Ranchi, to their chagrin. Their release came through after the police called the theft case against them false, and went after the man who filed the complaint.
Sumit Yadav, whose complaint had landed them in jail, is believed to be a relative of Madan Yadav. He is now in trouble.
Laxman Mahto and Madan Yadav surrendered and arrived at Ranchi's Birsa Munda jail just hours before Lalu Yadav's entry on December 23.
This is not the first time the two-man "advance party" used the same trick to make sure Lalu Yadav had help in prison.
Laxman Mahto is known to everyone in political circles as the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief's aide; Madan Yadav is always active when the former chief minister visits Ranchi.
Lalu Yadav, 69, has been jailed for three-and-a-half years in a case linked to the fodder scam involving the embezzlement of more than Rs. 89 lakh in government funds between 1991 and 1994, when he was chief minister.
This is the eighth time that Lalu Yadav is in jail, but for the first time for the veteran politician, there are rules.
The BJP government in Jharkhand has rebuffed his attempts at special treatment in jail in sharp contrast from his previous prison stint in 2013, when his RJD was a partner in the state government.
Yesterday, asked by a court about his reported helpers, Lalu Yadav replied that he had no idea and it was all "media creation". He then complained that he was not allowed more than three visitors a week. He also pleaded for leniency on account of the Makar Sankranti festival, talking about his passion for
dahi chura.
"I will get dahi chura arranged in jail," judge Shiv Pal Singh told him firmly.
In 2013 too, Madan Yadav was already in jail when Lalu Yadav entered, after being convicted in another fodder scam case. Laxman Mahto didn't have to get into jail as the Jharkhand government was in alliance with Lalu Yadav's party and the gates were always open to his supporters.