Indian minister granted bail in corruption case

File photo of Lalu Prasad Yadav (Pic: European Pressphoto Agency)

NEW DELHI (AA) - A former Indian minister, Laloo Prasad Yadav, has been granted bail on Friday after serving two months of his five year sentence after being convicted of embezzlement of state funds in a notorious and long-running corruption case known as the "fodder scam".

Yadav was charged with embezzling state funds intended for cattle fodder while he was chief minister of Bihar state.

Yadav, who later became federal railways minister, denied the charge.

He is among 45 people convicted by a special court some of whom have also been granted bail.

Laloo Yadav was one of India's most colourful politicians. He leads a regional party in Bihar.

The case was filed against Yadav in 1996 for the alleged embezzlement of funds intended for the purchase of fodder worth at the time (which today amounts to some 20 billion rupees or about $33 billion).

Anadolu Agency, December 13, 2013