Ranchi, July 14 : A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court Monday convicted senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official and Jharkhand Transport Secretary Sajjal Chakravarty and 63 others in a multi-million fodder scam case.
The court pronounced the verdict against 64 people for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs.389.4 million in Chaibasa district. Chakravarty was Deputy Commissioner of the district during the time fraud was committed.
Seventy-six people were accused in the case. During the trial five died, four turned approvers for the CBI, two admitted to their guilt and one is still absconding.
The court sentenced 10 people to three years' imprisonment while the quantum of punishment for the rest would be announced Tuesday.
A total of 63 cases were lodged by the CBI in the fodder scam case. Fourty-one of them were transferred to Jharkhand after it was carved out from Bihar in November 2000.
Earlier, former IAS official Sripati Narayan Dubey, the then commissioner of Dumka division, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment by a CBI court in another fodder scam case.
Till now, special CBI courts have pronounced judgments in about 24 cases. Union Railway Minister Lalu Yadav is accused in five of the cases.
