Sir, I am innocent, pleads Lalu

Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, who was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25 lakh in a 17-year-old fodder scam case, today claimed that he was falsely implicated.

"Sir, I am innocent. I have been falsely framed in the case," a subdued Prasad pleaded during a video conference from the Birsa Munda Central Jail to Special CBI Judge Pravas Kumar Singh, who pronounced the quantum of sentence for 37 of the 45 convicts.

The video conferencing was held on security grounds, a court official said.

Prasad had on September 30 and during his previous appearances claimed that there was a political conspiracy against him.

JDU MP Jagdish Sharma also pleaded innocence.

With the conclusion of 45 of 53 AHD cases, Prasad still has four more cases against him in the Rs 950 crore scam, which was unearthed during his regime in the 1990s.

Yadav has also been accused in RC 38A/96, RC 47A/96, RC 64 A/96 and in another RC case.