Following raids on IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan at multiple locations, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested seven accused in the land-for-jobs case. The arrested accused are Afshar Ali, Imtiaz Ahmed, Pradeep Bagchi, Md Saddam Hussain, Talha Khan, Bhanu Pratap Prasad, and Faiyaz Khan. The ED on Thursday conducted raids at multiple locations in West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand including the residence of Chhavi Ranjan who was the Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi, reported news agency ANI.
Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi were questioned in the same case. The investigation body had filed the chargesheet in October last year, against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, their daughter Misa Bharti and 13 others in the land-for-jobs scam.
The chargesheet stated that during the investigation, the accused in conspiracy with the then GM Central Railways and CPO, Central Railways recruited persons as substitutes in exchange for land either in their name or in the name of their close relatives, reported the Mint.
This land was acquired at prices lower than the prevailing circle rate and much lower than the market rate. It was also alleged that the candidates have used false TC and submitted false attested documents to the Ministry of Railways, said the CBI statement.
The alleged scam occurred between 2004 and 2009 when Lalu Yadav was the Railway Minister. Apart from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief, the chargesheet also includes the name of the then Railway General Manager.