New Delhi/Ranchi: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, who has been serving a jail term in connection with the fodder scam, was today admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for specialised treatment.  

Prasad, who was serving his jail term in Ranchi, was referred to AIIMS by the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) in Ranchi. "His condition is stable. He was brought in at noon. His sugar levels are a little bit high and he has some infection in the kidney," an AIIMS doctor said.  

He also said that Prasad has been admitted under the medicine department. The RJD chief had been admitted to RIMS in Ranchi on March 17 over complaints of uneasiness while he was lodged at the Birsa Munda Jail. Prasad has been serving a jail term since December 23.  

He left for New Delhi yesterday by train after a special CBI court allowed him to seek treatment at Delhi AIIMS. Senior advocate Chittaranjan Sinha, who has been handling Prasad's fodder scam cases from the very beginning, said the 69-year-old leader is suffering from diabetes, high creatinine levels and blood pressure.  

"His condition was not suitable for flying and the doctors at RIMS advised him to travel by train," Sinha said. A medical board at the RIMS where Prasad was being treated had decided to refer him to AIIMS for better treatment, RIMS Director R K Srivastav said. 

The former chief minister has been convicted in four fodder scam cases since 2013 -- the latest being the Dumka treasury case, in which a special CBI court sentenced him to 14 years in jail.  

The Jharkhand High Court will hear on April 6 his bail plea in connection with his conviction in the third fodder scam case -- pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.62 crore from the Chaibasa Treasury, Sinha said. PTI