A special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Ranchi on Monday sentenced Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav to five years’ imprisonment and imposed ₹60 lakh fine on him in the ₹139-crore fodder scam case.

The RJD supremo was convicted in the case on February 15 and quantum of punishment was scheduled to be pronounced today. Yadav has been found guilty of illegal withdrawals to the tune of ₹139.35 crore from the Doranda treasury by the CBI court.

The ailing 73-year-old veteran politician, who was shifted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi, from Hotwar jail following the conviction last week, was earlier sentenced to 14 years in jail in four other cases related to Dumka, Deoghar and Chaibasa treasuries in Jharkhand. 

Yadav’s lawyer had said the senior leader would attend Monday’s hearing via videoconferencing. He was present at the court last Tuesday when the verdict was given. A total of 170 people had been named as accused in the Doranda treasury scam case. Of these, 55 have died, seven have become government witnesses, six are absconding and two accepted the charges against them. Among the remaining 99 accused, including Yadav, the CBI court had delivered its verdict last week.