RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav was on Monday convicted by a special CBI court in the fodder scam corruption case that disqualifies him from Parliament and renders him ineligible for contesting elections for at least six years. Fodder scam: Lalu Prasad Yadav,44 others convicted; RJD chief can't fight polls Following is the timeline of the 17 years old multi-million fodder scam that surfaced in 1996: January 27,1996: The Rs 950-crore fodder scam first surfaced after a raid conducted on the offices of Animal Husbandry department -under which money for agricultural support programmes was stolen - in Chaibasa. The scam involved large-scale embezzlement of funds from government treasury given to non-existent companies for purchase and supply of cattle fodder in Bihar in 1990s. March 11,1996: Patna High Court directs CBI to probe fodder scam cases. Fodder Scam: Day before verdict,Lalu skirts media March 19,1996: Supreme Court affirms PHC order,asks 2-member bench to monitor progress of investigation. May 10,1997: CBI makes a formal request to the federally-appointed Governor of Bihar to prosecute Lalu. June 17,1997: The Governor gives permission for Lalu and others to be prosecuted. From the Archives: Once there was a scam June 23,1997: On 23 June,the CBI files chargesheets against Lalu and 55 other co-accused. 63 cases were registered under IPC Sections 420 (forgery) and 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy) and Section 13 (b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. July 30,1997: The RJD leader,who resigned as chief minister following the multi-crore fodder scam,surrenders before a court. Related: SC rejects Lalu Prasad's plea to transfer fodder scam trial August 19,1998: Disproportionate Assets case registered against Lalu. April 4,2000: Lalu chargesheeted. Rabri Devi's name included as co-accused for abetment of the offence. April 5,2000: Lalu/Rabri surrender to CBI court. Rabri gets bail,and Lalu sent to jail after judge rejects his bail prayer. Bihar: RJD sees a Nitish-Rahul link May 10,2000: Patna High Court grants provisional bail to Lalu which is extended on 25 occasions. June 9,2000: Charges framed against Lalu October 5,2001: Supreme Court transfers fodder scam cases to Jharkhand after the creation of new state. February,2002: Trial begins in Ranchi special CBI court. November 23,2006: Arguments conclude in the case. December 4,2006: Judge fixes December 18 for delivering verdict. December 18,2006: Lalu,Rabri acquitted of charges in a disproportionate assets case filed against them by the CBI seven years ago. May 31,2007: 58 people including Lalu's nephews were convicted,and given terms of 5 to 6 years each. Among them were two former regional directors of the Animal Husbandry DepartmentJunul Bhengraj and Raja Ramand four suppliers,namely Rakesh Mehra,Sanjay Kumar,Nagendra Yadav and Virendra Yadav. March 1,2012: Nine years after a chargesheet was filed against 44 people in one of the cases related to the multi-crore fodder scam,CBI court frames charges against former chief ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Jagannath Mishra,JD-U's Jehanabad MP Jagdish Sharma and 31 others in connection with fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 46 lakh from Banka and Bhagalpur treasuries against "forged bills". August 13,2013: Supreme Court rejects Lalu Prasad's plea seeking transfer of the trial court judge hearing the case. September 17,2013: Special court Ranchi reserves judgement in fodder scam case. September 30,2013: CBI court convicts Lalu Prasad Yadav along with 44 others in the fodder scam. RJD chief stands disqualified as member of the Lok Sabha following the verdict. (With PTI inputs)
