tactic, warned that it would allow some time for the permission to transpire, but if it sensed a delay, it would force a prosecution on its own authority. On 17 June, the governor gave permission for Lalu and others to be prosecuted. Five senior Bihar government officials (Mahesh Prasad, science and technology secretary; K. Arumugam, labour secretary; Beck Julius, animal husbandry department secretary; Phoolchand Singh, former finance secretary; Ramraj Ram, former AHD director), the first four of whom were IAS officers, were taken into judicial custody on the same day. The CBI also began preparing a chargesheet against Lalu to be filed in a special court. Expecting to be accused and imprisoned, Lalu filed an anticipatory bail petition, which the CBI opposed in a deposition to the court, listing the evidence against Lalu. Also, on 21 June, fearing that evidence and documentation that might prove essential in further exposing the scam were being destroyed, the CBI conducted raids on Lalu's residence and those of some relatives suspected of complicity. On 23 June, the CBI filed chargesheets against Lalu and 55 other co-accused, including Chandradeo Prasad Verma (a former union minister), Jagannath Mishra (former Bihar chief minister), two members of Lalu's cabinet (Bhola Ram Toofani and Vidya Sagar Nishad), three Bihar state assembly legislators (RK Rana of the Janata Dal, Jagdish Sharma of the Congress party, and Dhruv Bhagat of the Bharatiya Janata Party) and some current and former IAS officers (including the 4 who were already in custody). Mishra was granted anticipatory bail by the Bihar state High Court. Lalu's anticipatory bail petition, however, was rejected by the same court, and he appealed to the Supreme Court, which resulted in a final denial of bail on 29 July. On the same day, Bihar state police were ordered to arrest him. The next day, he was jailed. Later, the Bihar Director General of Police, SK Saxena, justified the one-day delay in arresting Lalu by stating in court that "any precipitate action would have led to police firing and killing of a large number of people." End of Lalu's chief ministership As it became evident that Lalu would be engulfed in the scandal and its prosecution, demands for him to be removed from the chief ministership had gained momentum both from other parties, as well as within Lalu's own party, the Janata Dal. On 5 July, Lalu formally parted ways with the