Ranchi: Former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra were sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 10 lakh each in a fodder scam case in which they were held guilty of shielding accused and patronising misappropriation of Rs 37.62 crore from Chaibasa treasury during 1992-93.

This is Lalu's third conviction in fodder scam cases. While he was awarded a three-and-a-half year jail term and Rs 10 lakh fine in one case (RC 64A/96, Deoghar treasury), he and Mishra were awarded another five-year-jail term and Rs 25 lakh fine in another case (RC 20A/96, Chaibasa treasury).

All sentences would run concurrently.

The special CBI court of S.S. Prasad, while ruling on the fodder scam case RC 68A/96 on Wednesday, held as many as 50 of 56 accused guilty. Since Lalu has spent about a month in judicial custody during trial, this time would be reduced from his five-year term.

Among the accused convicted on Wednesday were three former IAS officers, including former Jharkhand chief secretary Sajal Chakraborty, who was DC of West Singhbhum (Chaibasa) district during the period of the scam. He has been sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 2 lakh under provisions of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act-1988.

Chakraborty is already in jail after being sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 4 lakh in fodder scam case RC 20A/96.

Two politicians, R.K. Rana and Jagdish Sharma, were handed out the same quantum of punishment as Lalu, while former Bihar animal husbandry department secretary Mahesh Prasad and former finance commissioner Phool Chand Singh got sentences similr to Chakraborty.

"The court held Lalu Prasad, Mishra, Rana and Sharma guilty under sections 120B, 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 477A of IPC and section 13(2) of PC Act. Under sections of IPC and PC Act, the court pronounced a jail term of five years and Rs 5 lakh fine for each act. Both jail terms will run concurrently. In case they fail to deposit the fine, they will have to undergo two additional years of simple imprisonment," said CBI lawyer B.M.P. Singh.

Two other politicians, former Bihar public accounts committee chairman Dhruv Bhagat and former minister Vidyasagar Nishad, were awarded three years rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 1.5 lakh each. Both applied for bail.

The court also directed the CBI to start the process of depositing Rs 2.5 crore in the government treasury since the money had been recovered from the residence of convicted AHD official B.N. Sharma.

B.N. Sharma was convicted with five years rigorous imprisonment and fines Rs 12 lakh. Four other animal husbandry department officials, Arjun Sharma, Krishna Mohan Prasad and Silas Tirkey, were each awarded five years rigorous imprisonment and fined of Rs 12 lakh.

Bihar chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, who was the state's director (treasury), was among CBI witnesses who helped the agency to get convictions.

The court was jam-packed on Wednesday with the accused, their lawyers and media persons. Lalu, who was accompanied by senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad and MLA Bhola Prasad, was silent throughout the hearing. His lawyer, Chitranjan Sinha, pleaded for a mild punishment citing Lalu's poor health and age, but the CBI counsel opposed it.

Later, Raghuvansh Prasad said they would appeal against the sentence and seek Lalu's acquittal in Jharkhand High Court. Former chief minister Mishra, who was preoccupied with the last rites of his wife, was represented by his lawyer.