CBI interrogates former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad: What is the land-for-jobs case?

The investigation agency has already filed its chargesheet regarding the case, and the special court has summoned the accused, including Lalu and his family members, on March 15.

What is the land-for-jobs scam?

In May 2022, the CBI filed a corruption case against Lalu, Rabri, and their daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, alleging that they accepted plots of land in exchange for jobs during his stint as Union Railways Minister.

According to the investigation agency, around 12 people from Patna were appointed to Group D posts in the Railways when Lalu was the Union minister. In lieu of these appointments, the accused received seven plots of land in the city and elsewhere at a very low price. The plots belonged to the families of those 12 people, officials claimed.

The CBI also said that the family of Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) chief “acquired over 1 lakh sq. ft of land for Rs 26 lakh — the circle rate of that time puts the land’s cumulative value at more than Rs 4.39 crore,” The Indian Express has reported. The agency added that out of the seven land sale deeds, three were executed in favour of Rabri, one was in the name of Misa, one in favour of M/s AK Infosystems — Rabri purchased the majority of shares of this company in 2014 — and two gift deeds in favour of Hema.

The FIR regarding the case named a total of 16 people. Apart from Lalu and his family, the 12 people who got jobs in the Railway zones of Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hajipur were also accused.

The complaint mentioned, “Undue haste was shown in processing certain applications of candidates and surprisingly within three days from the date of receipt of respective applications, their appointments as Substitutes, were approved.”

“In other Railway Zones also, namely West Central Railway, Jabalpur and Western Railway, Mumbai, the applications, without complete address of the respective addresses, were processed and approved for appointment.”

Soon after the CBI filed the corruption case, they raided 16 locations associated with Lalu and his family members.

Meanwhile, RJD leaders have denied all the allegations and called the case a “political vendetta of the worst order”.

Last week, Rabri said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is scared of Lalu. “We won’t run away. We have been facing these allegations for the past 30 years. BJP is scared of Lalu Yadav in Bihar,” she said.