The CBI on Friday questioned RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s son Tejashwi in connection with a case of corruption allegedly committed during Lalu’s tenure as the Railways Minister. Tejashwi was interrogated for about seven hours on the alleged corruption in the award of contract to maintain two IRCTC hotels in 2006. Lalu allegedly took a prime plot as quid pro quo for award of the contract. Tejashwi is an accused in the case, along with his mother Rabri Devi, as the plot was finally transferred in his name. The 27-year-old former deputy chief minister of Bihar appeared before the agency after evading three notices for questioning in the case, CBI officials said. They said Tejashwi arrived at the CBI headquarters at 11 am and his questioning ended around 6 pm. Sources said officials asked him crucial questions about change of ownership of Delight Marketing, a company owned by family confidantes and to which the plot was initially transferred. It was later taken over by a company owned by Tejashwi. The agency will analyse his answers and may call him again for questioning, sources said. The CBI had quizzed Lalu for seven hours on Thursday. He had alleged the government was pursuing a political vendetta against him and his family. The case pertains to allegations that Lalu, as Railway Minister, handed over maintenance of two hotels run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, a subsidiary of Indian Railways, in Ranchi and Puri to Sujata Hotel, a company owned by Vinay and Vijay Kochhar, in return for a prime plot of 3 acres in Patna through a benami company. The FIR alleged that the RJD chief abused his official position for extending undue favours to the Kochhars and acquired a piece of “high value premium land” through the benami firm Delight Marketing. As quid pro quo, he “dishonestly and fraudulently” awarded them the contract for the two hotels. After the tender was awarded to Sujata Hotel, the ownership of Delight Marketing also changed hands from Sarla Gupta to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi between 2010 and 2014, according to the FIR.
