Fodder scam: Petition filed to make Nitish Kumar an accused

Ranchi, Sep 7 (IANS) A petition has been filed in a CBI court in Ranchi seeking to make Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar an accused in the multi-crore Animal Husbandry Department scam - popularly known as the fodder scam.

The petition has been filed by one Mukesh Kumar, who has claimed that there is enough evidence pointing towards Nitish Kumar's involvement in the scam.

"The petitioner says that there is enough evidence against Nitish Kumar and (Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Rajya Sabha MP) Shivanand Tiwari in the fodder scam. The hearing will take place Sep 25," Bhola Nath, the lawyer of the petitioner, told reporters here Friday.

Mukesh Kumar had earlier filed a similar plea in the CBI court which was rejected.

He then moved the Jharkhand High Court, which asked him to approach the CBI court.

Former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Jaggnath Mishra are accused in five cases related to the scam and their trial is on in different CBI courts of Ranchi.

Lalu Prasad had to quit the CM's post in 1997 after an arrest warrant was issued against him.

The fodder scam hit the headlines in the late 1990s in Bihar, where officials and politicians were accused of illegally withdrawing crores of rupees of public money in the guise of purchasing cattle fodder.

A total of 61 cases were filed in the scam and 53 were transferred to Jharkhand after it was carved out of Bihar in 2000.

The CBI courts in Ranchi have so far passed judgments in 43 cases.