CBI questions Lalu Prasad in land-for-job case

A team comprising five agency officials visited the Pandara Park residence of Misha Bharti, the daughter of Mr. Prasad.

Central Bureau of Investigation officials arrives at the residence of Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Misa Bharti to question her father and party chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in land-for-jobs scam case, in New Delhi, on March 7, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday questioned former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad for about two hours in connection with the land-for-job scam, a day after his wife Rabri Devi’s statement was recorded at her Patna residence in Bihar.

A team comprising five agency officials visited the Pandara Park residence of Misha Bharti, the daughter of Mr. Prasad, where they showed to him some documents and sought clarifications. The process was videographed. He had recently returned from Singapore after a kidney transplant surgery.

On Monday, reacting to the CBI’s move, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav told mediapersons: “Every month or two, these investigating agencies keep coming to our residence but we are not bothered as when we have not done anything wrong. Why should we get perturbed?”

Based on its findings, in October 2022, the CBI filed a chargesheet against 16 accused. Among them were Mr. Prasad, Ms. Devi, Ms. Bharti, the then Railway general manager Sowmya Raghvan and then chief personnel officer Kamal Deep Mainrai. In January, it received prosecution sanction against Mr. Prasad from the competent authority.

In May last year, the agency had carried out searches in Delhi and Bihar after registering the case against Mr. Prasad, his wife, two daughters — Ms. Bharti and Hema Yadav, and 12 others, alleging that the appointment of several substitutes to the Railways’ Group-D posts were made in lieu of land parcels.

The case was instituted on the basis of a preliminary enquiry initiated to examine the allegation that during 2004-09 many ineligible candidates were appointed as substitutes. The beneficiaries were later regularised.

The CBI has alleged that no advertisement/public notice had been issued for the appointments; that the beneficiaries had not even properly addressed the applications to the departments concerned, but “undue haste was shown” in processing and approving them. Several residents of Patna were appointed as substitutes in Mumbai, Kolkata, Jabalpur, Jaipur and Hajipur.

According to the agency, three sale deeds were executed in favour of Ms. Rabri Devi, one land was transferred to Ms. Bharti and another shown on paper as sold to AK Infosystems, whose properties were taken over by Mr. Prasad’s wife and a daughter in 2014. Two other land parcels were initially given to Hridyanand Choudhary, a Gopalganj resident, and Lalan Choudhary from Siwan. They later executed gift deeds in favour of Ms. Hema Yadav.

The CBI alleges that 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.

The CBI had earlier arrested Bhola Yadav, former Officer on Special Duty to the then Railway Minister and the Railway employee, Hridayanand Choudhary, for their alleged role. Another “beneficiary” named Dharmendra Rai was arrested previously.