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Kolkata, Oct 26 (IANS) Former CBI investigator Upendra Nath Biswas, who played a key role in convicting former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam case, on Sunday criticized the “loopholes” in the system that allows a jailed convict to move around freely after getting bail on health grounds.
The 84-year-old retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, in an exclusive interview with IANS, said when asked about Lalu’s participation in political activities despite being sentenced to imprisonment, he got angry.
Biswas said, “Our system is not foolproof. As per the law, Lalu is still in jail and has been granted bail due to ill health. He has been given a certificate by doctors that he should not be kept in jail. He is ill and needs treatment every day.”
The former CBI joint director’s comments ahead of the Bihar assembly elections on November 6 and 11 come at a time when the Rashtriya Janata Dal president’s party is waging a vigorous campaign to return to power after decades of political setbacks, which began with his arrest by the federal probe agency and conviction in the Rs 950 crore fodder scam case of the mid-1990s.
Biswas expressed helplessness over Lalu roaming freely, thereby undoing the hard work of his CBI team to ensure his conviction and sentence in more than half a dozen fodder scam cases.
He said, “This is our law. If you are ill and are granted bail for the illness, then in the process, you are free… For all practical purposes, Lalu is a free man.” He said that technically, Lalu is still in jail and serving his jail sentence.
However, Biswas is satisfied with the fact that the CBI investigation and Lalu’s conviction have made the former Bihar Chief Minister “ineligible to contest elections for the rest of his life”.
Biswas is also proud of the fact that convictions have been secured in all 74-75 cases filed by the CBI in connection with the fodder scam. “It’s a world record,” he said.
The fodder scam came to light during 1990–91 and 1995–96. As part of this, officials of the erstwhile Bihar Animal Husbandry Department, in connivance with unscrupulous suppliers and others, siphoned off and siphoned off hundreds of crores of rupees in the name of making payments to suppliers who had submitted fake/fake bills misrepresenting the supply of feed, fodder and veterinary drugs.
It was further alleged that the government funds so withdrawn were ultimately misused. During the investigation, the role of bureaucrats, politicians and others including the then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav came to light.
–IANS
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