Laloo remanded to judicial custody till Aug 13
Former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, who surrendered before the special CBI court on Wednesday morning, was remanded to judicial custody till August 13 after his regular bail plea was rejected.
Giving his verdict on the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief's regular bail plea which was moved after his surrender, CBI special judge S K Lal directed that Laloo Yadav be produced in the court on August 6 in connection with case RC 20(A)/96 of the Rs 9.5 billion scam. The case has not been covered by Wednesday's verdict.
Earlier in the day, before driving to the CBI court along with thousands of his supporters including almost all ministers of the Rabri Devi government, Laloo Yadav said, ''I may not be present here but you should put in efforts to maintain unity and integrity of the RJD.''
Laloo Yadav told the gathering that he would be proved innocent by
the court after which he would come back to complete all his
pending commitments.
He appealed to the people to maintain peace and urged his supporters to desist from a violent agitation in the event of his arrest.
The surrender of Laloo Yadav has evoked mixed response. According to political observers in Patna, the RJD chief has not only surprised the CBI but also his political rivals.
However, the BJP said that Laloo Yadav should be taken to any jail outside Bihar to avoid undesirable influence during the trial.
Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Sushil Kumar Modi
also demanded that Laloo Yadav be treated as a common prisoner.
Even the Left parties welcomed the RJD chief's surrender, saying he had no option but to do so. They have also demanded that the three Laloo Yadav aides in the I K Gujral ministry be dropped.
However, the Jharkhand Mukti Morch (Soren) leader Kumar Barun said that Laloo Yadav's move shows he cares for democratic traditions.
EARLIER STORY:
CBI orders Laloo's arrest as Supreme Court denies bail
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