Jail for Bihar politician

By Manikant Thakur in Patna

Former chief minister of the northern state of Bihar, Jagannath Mishra, has been remanded in judicial custody in a multi-million dollar fodder scam.

The case pertains to the misappropriation of funds meant for the state's animal husbandry department.

Mr Mishra was sent to jail after he surrendered before a court in the state capital, Patna.

Charges against Jagannath Mishra

Giving patronage to guilty officials

Financial irregularities

Accepting bribes as opposition leader

This is third time that Mr Mishra has been sent to jail for the fodder scam.

Non-bailable warrants were issued against him last month and he was taken into custody soon after he surrendered before a court in Patna this morning.

The fodder scam first came to light in 1996 when withdrawals from the state treasury were being investigated.

CBI investigation

India's top investigation agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, has filed more than 40 cases since then.

Mr Mishra has been charged with giving patronage to guilty officials, financial irregularities and allegedly taking bribes when he was the leader of the opposition in the state assembly in early 1990s.

He now heads a political party named Bharatiya Jan Congress and was a member of the upper house of the parliament , the Rajya Sabha, until last month.

Another former chief minister, Laloo Prasad Yadav, has also been charged for his alleged role in the fodder scam but he was recently released on bail.