A special court in India yesterday handed down five-year imprisonment to senior opposition politician and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav after convicting him in a third graft case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.62 crore from a government treasury when he was chief minister of eastern state of Bihar in 1990s.

CBI judge S S Prasad in eastern Indian city of Ranchi also found another former chief minister of Bihar Jagannath Mishra and others guilty in the case.

Lalu Prasad Yadav, 69, is currently  in a high-security jail in connection with two other fodder scam cases.

Soon after yesterday's verdict, Lalu's son Tejashwi Yadav said the special CBI court order was not final and he would appeal in the High Court and, if necessary, in the Supreme Court. Tejashwi Yadav accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP of framing his father.

On January 6 this year, the RJD chief was sentenced to three and half years in jail and fined Rs 10 lakh by another CBI judge in a fodder scam case relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from a government treasury 21 years ago.

On September 30, 2013, Lalu had been convicted in the first fodder scam case involving withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from another treasury and given five years prison term.