New Delhi: Former CBI Joint Director Upendra Nath Biswas on Sunday revealed how the Congress tried behind the scenes to shield RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav from arrest during the Rs 950-crore fodder scam. According to Biswas, the political manoeuvring even involved exerting pressure on then Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.

“The Congress mounted pressure on then Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda to stop me from arresting Lalu Prasad Yadav in the scam. When it failed in its objective, the Congress withdrew support to his government,” said Biswas, 84, who later joined politics and served as a minister in the West Bengal government.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, the retired IPS officer criticised the strong backing Lalu Prasad Yadav received from the Congress during the controversial investigation in the mid-1990s.

“Lalu Prasad Yadav was mounting pressure on the Central government to save him from being arrested in the scam. He went to his mentor and the then Congress president Sitaram Kesri with a request to withdraw support to the Central government. And Kesri obliged,” Biswas said, while crediting the close monitoring by courts for the CBI’s eventual success in securing convictions in 75 scam-related cases.

The former CBI officer also said that it was Kesri who advised Lalu Prasad Yadav to resign as Bihar Chief Minister and have Rabri Devi take over the post.

Sharing details from Delhi’s power corridors during the investigation, Biswas recalled, “In his desperation to evade arrest, Lalu Prasad Yadav even approached the next Prime Minister, I.K. Gujral, with a plea to control me. But PM Gujral said ‘I am sorry’.”

He also described Lalu Prasad Yadav’s attempts to block the CBI. “The Supreme Court gave the orders to arrest Lalu Prasad Yadav. We had full power, and we went to his home. But he threw a ring of local police around his house and we were denied permission to go inside,” Biswas said, reconstructing the dramatic night-long events.

An attempt was reportedly made to seek Army assistance to enter the Chief Minister’s house. “The Army said we want it in writing. The Army also tried to contact the High Court judge who had approved taking their help for the arrest, but the Army authorities could not contact the judge,” he added.

Lalu Prasad Yadav was ultimately arrested with the help of Bihar Police on July 29-30, 1997.

The fodder scam, which occurred during 1990-91 and 1995-96, involved officials of the Bihar Animal Husbandry Department allegedly conspiring with suppliers to withdraw and misappropriate hundreds of crores of rupees under the pretext of paying for feed, fodder, and veterinary medicines. Investigations revealed the involvement of bureaucrats, politicians, and notably Lalu Prasad Yadav.