By IANS,
Ranchi : A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court Saturday sentenced R.K. Rana, a former MP of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), to five years in jail in a case of the multi-million rupee fodder scam.
A fine of Rs.4 lakh (Rs.400,000) was also imposed on Rana.
Special CBI court judge Bireshwar Jha pronounced the sentence in a fodder scam case relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs.2.8 million from Godda district treasury in 1992. The money was withdrawn on the basis of forged bills for medicines of the animals.
The CBI court had convicted 14 people in the case Friday and it had awarded two and two half years imprisonment to two accused. The court pronounced sentence against 12 people, against the remaining 12 including Rana. The minimum sentence awarded Saturday was for three and half years and maximum, five years.
The minimum fine imposed was Rs.40,000 and the maximum Rs.4.90 lakh — on Tripurari Mohan, a supplier. Mohan was also sentenced to five years in jail.
Rana was an employee in the animal husbandry department (AHD), but quit his job in 1994 and joined the RJD. He served as an MP from undivided Bihar.
There were 20 accused in this case. Four died during trial, two confessed their crimes and rest were convicted on Friday.
A total of 53 cases out of the total 61 were transferred to Jharkhand after the state was carved out of Bihar in 2000 and seven CBI courts set up for speedy trial. These courts have delivered judgement in 31 cases, convicting more than 230 of the accused and sentencing them to jail terms from three to seven years.