By IANS
New Delhi : A designated anti-corruption court in Jharkhand Wednesday sentenced four former state government officials and nine others with three years' jail term each for defrauding the state exchequer of Rs.72 million in cheating and corruption cases, known cumulatively as fodder scam.
Besides awarding jail terms, the court also imposed fines worth several thousand rupees on each of the convicts, said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a statement here.
The convicts included former treasury officer Shilendra Kumar Kashyap, assistant treasury officer Ashok Kumar Singh, accountant Ashoka Nand Prasad and clerk Jagdish Sharma of the Ranchi Treasury, besides proprietors of nine firms, which withdrew the money from treasury by raising false bills against the state animal husbandry department without supplying anything to it.
The case pertained to fraudulent withdrawal of over Rs.72 million from the treasury between May-December 1995 on the basis of spurious bills.
Originally registered at the Ranchi Sadar police station on Feb 4, 1996, the case was later transferred to the CBI, which re-registered the same on March 29, 2006 and charge-sheeted 46 people.
The court following a speedy trial convicted a total of 39 people, out of whom 13 were sentenced Wednesday. The remaining 26 would be sentenced Thursday, said the CBI.
Out of a total of 46 accused put up for trial by the CBI, former joint regional director Shyam Bihari Singh of the animal husbandry department and a supplier Bishan Swarup died during the trial.
Accountant Ramdeo Prasad of the Ranchi Treasury, was discharged at the time of framing of charges while another supplier P.K. Jaiswal was convicted after he pleaded guilty.
Of the remaining 42 accused who were facing trial, 39 were convicted.
The court also acquitted three accused including animal husbandry's former regional director Kirti Narayan Jha and two suppliers Mehar Alam and Mahendra Prasad of Ranchi.