UPDATED: May 1, 2021 19:43 IST
File pix of RJD chief Lalu Prasad from 2017 just before he
was sent to prison
It was fourth time lucky for Lalu Prasad Yadav. The former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief had been in jail since December 2017 after being convicted in various fodder scam cases. He had been refused bail three times earlier, and the unanticipated good fortune of the April 17 bail order by the Jharkhand High Court has injected a sense of optimism among the party cadre and Lalu’s supporters in Bihar.
However, nearly two weeks after the bail order, Lalu hasn’t yet made it to his home state, because he is in AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), New Delhi, being treated for various ailments. Besides, his lawyers in Jharkhand have yet to collect the orders from the court, so he is still technically in judicial custody. The RJD patriarch will be turning 73 this June, and is likely to continue for some time in Delhi, given the pandemic situation. Sources close to the family say Lalu may stay in AIIMS for now till he can shift to his daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti’s house in the capital.