Narrow escape for RJD chief Lalu Prasad as fan in his room catches fire

Medininagar (Jharkhand): RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday morning had a narrow escape as a fire broke out in a room of the circuit house in Jharkhand's Palamu district where he was staying.  Prasad, 73, was having breakfast in his room around 8 am when the wall-mounted fan caught fire, said a PTI report. The fire was immediately doused by his aides. 

"The fire was caused by a short circuit and electricity supply to the premises was snapped after the incident," PTI quoted Deputy Commissioner of Palamu Shashiranjan, who further said that no one has suffered any injury due to the incident and no significant damage has been reported

Palamu Deputy Commissioner said that the short circuit has been rectified and the fan that caught fire was removed.

Lalu Prasad arrived in Medininagar on Monday to appear before a special court on Wednesday in connection with a 13-year-old case pertaining to the violation of the Model Code of Conduct during elections.

The RJD chief is slated to appear in the court of special judge Satish Kumar Munda. Prasad's counsel Prabhat Kumar reportedly said that the case was later transferred to Ranchi and then to Medininagar. 

A case under IPC sections 188, 279, 290, 291 and 34, and section 127 of Representation of People's Act was registered against him in Garhwa district after his chopper landed in a paddy field allegedly owing to the mistake of the pilot, instead of the scheduled helipad in Medininagar, during the 2009 assembly polls in Jharkhand.

Lalu Prasad asks court to release passport

Meanwhile, Lalu Prasad has appealed to a special CBI court for the release of his passport in order to renew it as he may need to travel abroad for a possible kidney transplant, his counsel said on Monday.

On April 22, Jharkhand High Court granted bail to the RJD chief in the Doranda Treasury case involving embezzlement of over Rs 139 crore in which a CBI special court had sentenced him to five years in prison.

"Lalu Prasad has prayed for the renewal of his passport. He has pleaded before a special CBI court that his passport be handed over for renewal. The application mentions that after renewal the passport will be submitted to the court," Prasad's counsel Prabhat Kumar told PTI.

Kumar said: "He has taken the plea that it is a case of kidney failure and he may be required to go abroad for treatment or transplant" and added: "If we get an appointment from the doctor then we will pray for passport release and permission to go abroad for treatment."

The next date of hearing has been fixed as June 10.  Lalu Prasad suffers from multiple ailments, including renal problems. He is a patient of stage-4 kidney ailment, PTI report said.  

(With PTI Inputs)