CBI Summons Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav Today In Connection With Land-For-Job Case

The Central Bureau of Investigation has summoned Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav in connection with the land-for-job case after the ED raided his Delhi residence yesterday.

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav for questioning on Saturday in connection with the land-for-job case.

This is the second summon issued to him, the first being issued on February 4 but he had not appeared before the CBI sleuths then, following which a fresh date was given for Saturday, news agency PTI reported officials as saying. 

The summon comes after Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the Delhi residence of Tejashwi Yadav on Friday. Raids were also conducted at the houses of former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughters among other places.

Earlier, former Bihar chief minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav was questioned for nearly two hours on Tuesday after the agency questioned his wife and former Chief Minister of Bihar Rabri Devi in the matter. 

The ED also raided the premises of ex-RJD MLA Syed Abu Dojana at Phulwari Sharif in Patna. A team of four members from Patna ED conducted the raid for investigation in a disproportionate assets case, an official said.

The entire exercise was videographed during which Prasad was confronted with some documents in a special room where he is quarantined post his kidney transplant surgery, the officials told news agency PTI.

Land For Jobs 'Scam' Case

The chargesheet against former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, their daughter Misa Bharti, and 13 others in the land-for-jobs scam was filed in October of last year by the CBI.

According to the chargesheet, the investigation revealed that the accused engaged individuals as substitutes in lieu of land either in their name or in the names of their close relatives in coercion with the then-GM Central Railways and CPO, Central Railways.

This land was purchased for significantly less than the market rate and the current circle rate. According to the CBI statement, candidates were also accused of using fake TCs and submitting fake attested documents to the Ministry of Railways.

During Lalu Yadav's tenure as Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009, the alleged scam is said to have taken place. The chargesheet also includes the name of the then-Railway General Manager, in addition to the chief of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

According to the CBI, the investigation had revealed that the candidates had been considered for their engagement without the need for substitutes, that there was no urgency for their appointment, which was one of the main criteria for the engagement of substitutes, and that they took on their responsibilities much later after their appointment was approved, and that they were then regularized.

There were a few oddities found in the utilisations of the up-and-comers and the reports that were encased because of which the applications shouldn't have been handled and their commitment shouldn't have been supported however it was finished.

According to the CBI, candidates were also considered and appointed to positions requiring an inferior or lower medical category because, in the majority of cases, they joined their jobs in their respective divisions at a later date, defeating the purpose of substitute appointments. In other instances, candidates were unable to pass their medical examinations in the required category to which their engagement was made.

In response to the CBI's chargesheet, the Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi issued summons on February 27 against Lalu, his wife Rabri Devi, and 14 others in connection with an alleged land-for-job scam.