a privilege motion to discuss possible action against senior figures in the regional headquarters of the CBI, which could proceed similar to a contempt of court proceeding and result in stalling the investigation or even prosecution of the named CBI officials. However, U. N. Biswas, the regional CBI director, and the other officials tendered an unqualified apology to the Legislative Council, the privilege motion was dropped, and the CBI probe continued. As the investigation proceeded, the CBI unearthed linkages to the serving chief minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav and, on 10 May 1997, made a formal request to the federally-appointed Governor of Bihar to prosecute Lalu (who is often referred by his first name in Indian media). On the same day, a businessman, Harish Khandelwal, who was one of the accused was found dead on train tracks with a note that stated that he was being coerced by the CBI to turn witness for the prosecution. The CBI rejected the charge and its local director, U. N. Biswas, kept the appeal to the governor in place. An Income Tax Investigation also blamed Lalu for the scam. On 8 May 2017, In a major set back for RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Supreme Court has ordered separate trials in all four cases registered against him in the Rs. 1000 crore fodder scam. The SC was hearing a CBI plea challenging the Jharkhand High Court's dropping of conspiracy charges against him. The SC asked the trial court to complete the trial in 9 months. Path to prosecution A few days of uncertainty followed the CBI's request to the state governor to prosecute the chief minister. The governor, A. R. Kidwai, was accountable to the federal government, and had already stated that he would need to be satisfied that strong evidence against Lalu existed before he would permit a formal indictment to proceed. The federal government, led by newly appointed prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral who had just succeeded the short-lived government of the previous prime minister H. D. Deve Gowda, consisted of a coalition that depended on support from federal legislators affiliated with Lalu for its survival. It was also unclear why the CBI had sought the governor's consent in the first place and, when the High Court demanded to know why it was being sought, the CBI stated that it was a "precautionary measure." The High Court, questioning the