Lalu acquitted in 2015 poll code violation case

India

pti-PTI

Hajipur, Aug 24:
A
court
in
Bihar’s
Hajipur
on
Wednesday
acquitted
RJD
supremo
Lalu
Prasad
Yadav
in
a
2015
case
pertaining
to
the
former
chief
minister
allegedly
making
caste-based
remarks
and
violating
the
Model
Code
of
Conduct
during
assembly
elections.

The
court
of
Additional
Chief
Judicial
Magistrate
(Hajipur),
Smita
Raj,
acquitted
Yadav
of
all
charges
due
to
lack
of
substantive
evidence.
“When
the
court
pronounced
its
verdict,
my
client
was
present
inside
the
courtroom.
He
remained
inside
the
courtroom
for
10
minutes,”
Shyam
Babu,
lawyer
of
the
RJD
chief,
told
reporters.

“Previously,
when
my
client’s
statement
was
recorded
before
the
court
on
June
16,
he
had
denied
the
charges
levelled
against
him
in
the
FIR
pertaining
to
the
case.
Yadav
had
pleaded
innocence
before
the
court
on
that
date
and
said
that
he
did
not
use
any
word
that
would
hurt
anyone,”
the
lawyer
said.

‘Modi ko hatana hai’: Lalu Prasad Yadav’s first comment after political drama in Bihar

The
case
pertains
to
Yadav’s
election
campaign
during
the
2015
assembly
polls
in
the
state.
Launching
the
party’s
campaign
from
Raghopur
on
September
27,
2015,
the
RJD
supremo
had
allegedly
described
the
assembly
elections
as
a
direct
fight
between
the
“backward
castes
and
forward
castes”
and
gave
a
call
to
Yadavs
and
other
backward
castes
to
rally
behind
the
RJD-led
alliance
to
defeat
the
BJP-led
NDA.

Later,
an
FIR
was
registered
with
the
Ganga
Bridge
Police
Station
on
the
basis
of
the
statement
of
the
then
circle
officer,
who
was
deputed
as
the
magistrate
during
the
election
meeting
of
the
RJD
chief
for
his
son
and
party
nominee
Tejashwi
Yadav
in
Raghopur.