Land-for-jobs case: ED names Lalu Prasad’s wife Rabri Devi, two daughters; RJD calls it political vendetta

The ED has also named Hridyanand Chaudhary, a former Railways employee, and Amit Katyal, director of A K Infosystems who was arrested in November last year in connection with the case. Two private companies, AK Infosystems and AB Export, have been named.

The case pertains to Group-D appointments made in the West Central Railway Zone in Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Railways Minister, from 2004 to 2009, allegedly in return for land parcels transferred to his family and associates.

The ED has alleged that several such land parcels were acquired by Katyal, following which the shares of AK Infosystems were transferred to Lalu’s family members.

The money laundering case stems from a complaint lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which filed a chargesheet in the case earlier. The CBI has alleged that Rabri and son Tejashwi Yadav took control of AK Infosystems in 2014 for just Rs 1 lakh, at Rs 10 per share.

AK Infosystems allegedly owned land worth Rs 1.77 crore. According to the CBI chargesheet, the company, in 2017, “suddenly” paid back Rs 1.35 crore to the promoter-director at a time which coincided with an Income Tax raid on Lalu.

The CBI chargesheet further alleged that Lalu, by “virtue of his status as Minister of Railways”, exerted influence on West Central Railway (WCR) officers for a list of candidates to be appointed as “substitutes” in the Railways.

It was alleged that Lalu acquired land parcels in Mahuabagh village in Patna from some of these candidates at highly discounted rates as quid pro quo for granting them Grade D jobs in the Railways.

The CBI pointed out that most of the candidates who were selected were from a few districts in Bihar “wherein Lalu had political/ financial interest”. Of the 117 candidates that the CBI looked into, 113 were from Bihar. Of these, 108 were still working in the Indian Railways, the CBI said.

ENS adds from Patna: The RJD said the ED action was a “sheer act of political vendetta” and an attempt to “weaken” the Opposition ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

“It is a malicious intention to target and tarnish the image of Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. The Narendra Modi government knows that it does not have a sound narrative for the general elections. They want to win the elections by chargesheeting Opposition leaders in false cases and conducting raids at their places,” RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta told The Indian Express.