Ranchi: In the first conviction in the multi-crore fodder scam cases, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Court today (April 1, 2004) sentenced four Government officials and five employees of different supplier firms upto five years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 each.

The Special Judge, Ramanuj Narayan, who had yesterday reserved the sentence after convicting them, handed out the punishment to Junul Bhengraj, then Regional Director, North Chotanagpur Division, Animal Husbandry Department in Ranchi, under Sections 467, 468 and 471.

Braj Bhusan Prasad, then Budget and Accounts Officer in Patna, was sentenced to five years RI under Section 467 and 468 while Sashi Bhusan Verma, then touring veterinary officer (mobile), was sentenced to four years RI under Section 467 and 477.

P K Tripathi, then District Animal Husbandry Officer at Lohardaga, was also sentenced to four years' RI under Section 467 and 477A.

Employees of supplier firms - Mahendra Prasad, Ramnandan Singh, Anjani Kumar Singh, Basant Kumar Singh and Rama Shankar Singh - were sentenced to five years' RI.

While Ram Nandan Singh was slapped Rs 5,000 or two months' simple imprisonment, others were fined Rs 20,000 or six months' simple imprisonment.

Convicting the nine yesterday, the court observed that all of them had withdrawn money from the treasury in collusion with each other and on the basis of forged allotment letters and manipulated supply orders.

The CBI had submitted chargesheets against the nine in 1998 while the State Police had booked 23 persons, including the nine convicted, in the fodder scam case No RC 59(A)/96, amounting to misappropriation of Rs 11.5 lakh from Lohardaga treasury.

The court held the public servants guilty under Sections 467, 468 and 477(A) of the IPC for forgery.

The special counsel, Shiv Kumar, conducted the case on behalf of the CBI.