A close aide of Lalu Prasad, Subhash Yadav, the Patna-based businessman who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a sand mining case, has been associated with the RJD chief since early 1990s. The ED arrested Subhash Saturday as part of its money laundering investigations into Bihar’s alleged sand mining scam. During its raids at his premises, the central agency seized “unexplained” Rs 2.37 crore in cash and several digital devices including pen drives, mobile phones and laptops containing “incriminating data”. He has been sent to judicial custody till March 22. Subhash, 52, a resident of Hetan village in Patna’s Shahpur area, started off as a small-time property dealer who rose quickly to become a big sand businessman with significant political clout. The son of a farmer in the Ganga riverine belt of Danapur near Patna, Subhash has a BSc degree. He first got close to a relative of Lalu in 1990s and went on to become one of the confidants of the RJD supremo who was then the Bihar chief minister. Subsequently, Subhash’s sand mining operation saw a rapid growth even as he later formed a company, Broadson Commodities Pvt Ltd (BCPL), to run his business. In the state’s political circles, he has been known as one of the key financiers of the RJD. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the RJD fielded Subhash from Jharkhand’s Chatra seat that he lost. In his 2019 election affidavit, he declared assets worth Rs 5 crore. The ED’s probe was said to have found that Subhash had purchased three flats in Patna from Lalu’s wife and former CM Rabri Devi for Rs 1.72 crore. According to the ED, the BCPL had been involved in "illegal sand mining and selling of sand without using the departmental pre-paid transportation e-challan, issued by the mining authority, Bihar, and has caused huge revenue loss to the extent of Rs 161.15 crore to the government exchequer.” An ED spokesperson said: "Investigation has revealed that a syndicate mainly controlled the illegal mining of sand and its sale. Subhash is the key member of the syndicate, as well as ex-director in Broadson Commodities Pvt Ltd, which was involved in illegal sand mining and sale. The investigation has also revealed that Subhash has generated huge proceeds of crime and has concealed the same by acquiring various immovable properties in the name of his companies.” The ED initiated its investigation based on 20 FIRs registered by the Bihar Police under various sections of the IPC and Bihar Mineral (Concession, Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rule, 2019, against the BCPL and others. Earlier, the ED had carried out search operations on three occasions and arrested five people, including the directors of BCPL and syndicate member Radha Charan Sah, (MLC, Bihar) and his son Kanhaiya Kumar. Following Subhash’s arrest, the RJD hit out at the ED, alleging that the ruling BJP was using central agencies for “political vendetta” on the eve of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said:"We are not at all surprised at overactivism of central agencies. We have nothing against law taking its own course but we are surely against the way central agencies have been working overtime against Opposition leaders. But our top leader Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav have said umpteen times that they would not be cowed down by such acts of political vendetta.” ED raids another Lalu associate Meanwhile, the ED on Tuesday raided multiple premises in Delhi-NCR as part of a money laundering investigation against a realty and liquor company promoted by Amit Katyal, who was also said to be a “close associate” of the Lalu-Rabri family. Katyal was arrested by the ED last year in the alleged railways land-for-jobs scam involving Lalu, Rabri, their son and former deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, daughter and MP Misa Bharti and some other children. The ED searched about 27 premises of Haryana-based Krishn Buildtech Pvt Ltd in Delhi, Gurugram and Sonipat under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This company has been promoted by Amit Katyal and Rajesh Katyal, who are Haryana-based businessmen. The probe pertains to alleged siphoning of homebuyers' fund worth Rs 400 crore by the company's promoters and parking them abroad. The Bihar BJP has alleged that Rabri became a stakeholder in AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd, an alleged shell company set up by Amit Katyal and Rajesh Katyal, whom she allegedly helped set up a beer factory near Patna, during her second tenure as the CM during 2000-2005. The factory is now closed after the prohibition was enforced in Bihar in April 2016. The company reportedly owns lands worth crores in and outside Patna.
