Ex-guv deposes in fodder scam case

RANCHI: Former Chhatishgarh and Tripura governor D N Sahay on Friday deposed in the special CBI court in a fodder scam case involving former Union railway minister Lalu Prasad and former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra.
Sahay appeared in the court of CBI special judge G K Singh as a witness in fodder scam case RC 64A/96 related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 38 lakh from Deoghar treasury.
Sahay was made a prosecution witness as he was DG (vigilance) in 1994 in Bihar, when Lalu Prasad was chief minister. Sahay informed the court that he was DG (vigilance) from January 1994 to August 1994 and during that time he was given five allocation letters. Sahay also told the court that Prasad had given five fake and forged allocation letters of the animal husbandry department for investigation but as he began his investigations, he found that the same letters were also with the public accounts committee (PAC), which was investigating the case.
After he came to know that PAC is investigating the case, he didn't go ahead with the vigilance probe of the five forged allocation letters given by the then chief minister as no parallel investigation of the same case could be done. There are altogether 36 accused are in this fodder scam case including former MLA Vidya Sagar Nishad, former IAS Phool Chand Singh and former IAS IC Arunagam. "The hearing of the case is likely to be completed by next year," said special public prosecutor J N Singh.
Lalu and Mishra are accused in two fodder scam cases being tried in special CBI courts in Ranchi. Over all 53 fodder scam cases are being tried at the Ranchi special CBI courts, which are related to the fraudulent withdrawal from Ranchi, Gumla, Simdega, Hazaribag, Dumka, Godda, Deoghar, Chaibasa and Palamu.