A fodder scam accused who was on the run for 25 years was arrested by the CBI at Lucknow railway station after investigators tracked his movements from Nepal to India, the agency said on Friday.
Satyendra Kumar, who was declared a proclaimed offender after he failed to appear for trial, was apprehended around midnight on Thursday while travelling on a train from Guna in Madhya Pradesh to Lucknow, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in a statement.
He had gone underground after the CBI filed its chargesheet in the fodder scam in 2001 and had been on the run for more than 25 years. A permanent arrest warrant was issued against him, the agency said.
The CBI investigators pursued his trail using physical surveillance, technical monitoring and human intelligence, finally tracking him to Nepal. They later learnt that he recently entered India.
"Recently, the accused entered India and was travelling from Guna to Lucknow by train on 22.10.2026. Acting on specific intelligence inputs, a dedicated CBI team was formed for arresting the accused on his way from Guna to Lucknow," a CBI spokesperson said in the statement.
The agency positioned its personnel at Lucknow railway station ahead of the train's arrival. The operation culminated in Kumar's arrest around midnight on October 22, the spokesperson said.
Kumar is being brought to Ranchi, Jharkhand, on transit remand for production before the competent court, according to the CBI.
The fodder scam involved the embezzlement of funds for the purchase of cattle fodder and related supplies in undivided Bihar. Former chief ministers Jagannath Mishra and Lalu Prasad Yadav have been convicted in cases linked to the scam.
Published on October 23, 2026
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