Land-For-Jobs Scam Case: Fresh Summons For Lalu, Tejashwi. ED Sleuths Reach Rabri Devi's Residence

The ED has issued fresh summons to Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav to appear for questioning in connection with the alleged railways land-for-jobs money laundering case.

The ED has issued fresh summons to Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav to appear for questioning in connection with the alleged railways land-for-jobs money laundering case.

Source : PTI

Land-For-Jobs Case: The Enforcement Directorate has issued fresh summons to RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his son and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav to appear for questioning at its Patna office in connection with the alleged railways land-for-jobs money laundering case, news agency PTI reported on Friday, citing official sources.

Meanwhile, a team went to the official residence of Prasad's wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi in Patna to deliver the summons, sources further stated.

VIDEO | ED officials arrive at the residence of former Bihar CM Rabri Devi in Patna.

Earlier this month, the ED filed its first charge sheet in the railways land-for-jobs linked money laundering case, naming Rabri Devi and her MP daughter Misa Bharti. pic.twitter.com/HTuwISwF7x

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 19, 2024

According to PTI, the former Bihar CM has been asked to depose on January 29, Tejashwi has been called the next day, on January 30. The two have been asked to depose at the Enforcement Directorate office on Bank Road in the capital. 

ED Filed Chargesheet On January 9

On January 9, the ED filed a charge sheet in the money laundering case, naming Lalu Prasad's family, including Rabri Devi, their daughters RJD MP Misa Bharti, and Hema Yadav, among others, as reported by PTI. On the day of filing of the chargesheet, RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha had called the action by the probe agency "vendetta politics" as he accused the BJP of using probe agencies against opposition parties.

"In states where the BJP is weak, agencies are working on strengthening it. This is the politics of harassment and torture," Jha had said, as quoted by PTI. The saffron party is using agencies against parties it is unable to fight politically, the RJD leader alleged. On the ED chargesheet, Jha had said, "This is the biggest example of vendetta politics," as quoted by PTI.

Lalu-Tejashwi Skipped Previous Summons

The two skipped the earlier summonses issued in this case by the probe agency for appearance in the national capital.  Tejashwi, however, has appeared once before the agency in this case in Delhi last year. According to PTI, It is understood that the two had told the ED that they were engaged in their political and official work and hence could not depose in Delhi.

Land-For-Jobs Case

The alleged scam pertains to the period when Prasad was the railway minister in the UPA-1 government. According to PTI, the money laundering case, filed under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from a complaint lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI filed a charge sheet in this case earlier.

According to the CBI, no advertisement or public notice was issued for appointment, but some residents of Patna were appointed as substitutes in different zonal railways in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hazipur, as reported by PTI.

As a quid pro quo, the candidates, directly or through their immediate family members, allegedly sold land to Prasad's family members at highly discounted rates, up to one-fourth to one-fifth of the prevailing market rates, according to the allegations levelled by the CBI.

The probe agency attached assets worth more than Rs 6 crore belonging to Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti, and linked companies last year as part of this investigation, PTI reported. The agency had raided the premises of Chanda Yadav, Ragini Yadav, Hema Yadav, and Abu Dojana in Patna, Phulwari Sharif, Delhi-NCR, Ranchi, and Mumbai in March 2023.