Granted parole, Lalu reaches Patna

RJD president Lalu Prasad, lodged in Ranchi jail since December 23 last year, reached his Patna residence on Thursday after he was granted a three-day parole.

The temporary reprieve was given to Lalu so that he can attend his elder son Tej Pratap’s wedding, which is slated for May 12.

The parole was expected to be granted on Wednesday but was caught in bureaucratic red tape in Ranchi.

The IG (Prisons) eventually granted him the three-day parole on Thursday after the doctors treating him at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences certified that he was fit enough to travel to Patna.

On Thursday evening, Lalu boarded an Indigo flight from Ranchi to Patna, landing amid wide cheers by the thousands of his supporters.

Many compared Lalu to god with slogans such as "Lalu Bhagwan zindabad".

The incarcerated leader has been serving sentence in four fodder scam cases since December.

Lalu, however, did not speak to the media, as he has possibly been asked to refrain from doing so during his parole.

Rabri Devi's residence, 10, Circular Road, was on Thursday decked up beautifully in view of Tej Pratap's wedding.

The elder son of Lalu and Rabri is slated to wed Aishwarya Rai, daughter of RJD MLA Chandrika Rai and granddaughter of former Bihar chief minister Daroga Rai, on Saturday.

The marriage, a mega event to be held at the veterinary college ground here, will witness a galaxy of political leaders, cutting across party lines, gracing the occasion.