The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 10 conducted searches at 24 locations in multiple States in connection with the alleged land-for-job scam case involving former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and others.
The searches were carried out in and around Delhi, Patna, Ranchi and Mumbai. The ED move came days after the Central Bureau of Investigation questioned the former Railway Minister and his wife, Rabri Devi, in its own case.
Also read: Explained | What is the alleged land-for-jobs scam involving former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad?
The case pertains to people allegedly given employment in the railways in return for land parcels gifted or sold at cheap rates to the Yadav family and its associates, they said.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) sources said that in addition to that of Mr. Prasad’s younger son and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav’s house in South Delhi, the properties linked to Mr. Prasad’s three daughters, Ragini Yadav, Chanda Yadav and Hema Yadav, were searched. The premises of RJD MLA from Sitamarhi’s Sursand, Abu Dojana, who is considered close to the RJD chief and his family, was also covered.
Apparently perturbed over the ED searches, Rohini Acharya, Mr. Prasad’s second daughter who is settled in Singapore and had recently donated her kidney to her ailing father, tweeted in Hindi: “We’ll remember this injustice. Everything will be remembered. What crime sister’s little children and pregnant sister-in-law (Mr. Yadav’s wife) have committed that they’re being tortured? Everyone is being tortured since this morning. The only crime of these people is that Lalu-Rabri family did not bow down to the fascist forces and rioters. You’ll get a response to this injustice when time comes...now, all this is beyond tolerance.”
In October 2022, the CBI had filed a chargesheet against 16 accused. Among those arraigned were Mr. Prasad, his wife, eldest daughter Misa Bharti, the then Railway general manager Sowmya Raghvan and then chief personnel officer, Kamal Deep Mainrai. In January, it received a prosecution sanction against Mr. Prasad from the competent authority.
The CBI had searched multiple premises in Delhi and Bihar in May last year, after registering the case against Mr. Prasad, his wife, two daughters, Ms. Bharti and Ms. Hema Yadav, and 12 others, alleging that the appointment of certain substitutes to the Railways’ Group-D posts were made in lieu of land parcels.
The case was instituted based on a preliminary enquiry into the allegation that during 2004-09, many ineligible candidates were appointed as substitutes. The beneficiaries were later regularised.
It is alleged that several residents of Patna were appointed as substitutes in Mumbai, Kolkata, Jabalpur, Jaipur and Hajipur. About 1.05 lakh sq. ft of land in Patna was acquired by Mr. Prasad’s family members and in most cases payment to the sellers was shown in cash. The land parcels directly transferred to the family members were allegedly bought at prices ranging from ₹3.75 lakh to ₹13 lakh, lower than the then prevailing circle rates, according to the CBI.
The ED is conducting a money laundering probe based on the CBI case.
