The Enforcement Directorate on January 9 filed a chargesheet naming Rabri Devi, wife of former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, their two daughters Misa Bharati and Hema Yadav, and four others in connection with the land-for-job scam case.
Among the others named are an alleged beneficiary, Hridayanand Chaudhary; Amit Katyal, former director of AK Infosystems Private Limited; AK Infosystems, and AB Exports Private Limited, through common director Shariqul Bari. The agency arrested Mr. Katyal in November last year.
Also read: Explained | What is the alleged land-for-jobs scam involving former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad?
The ED case is based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on May 18, 2022, against Mr. Prasad and others in the same matter. In July last year, the CBI filed a second chargesheet against the former Railway Minister, Ms. Rabri Devi, their son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, and 14 others.
Deputy CM booked
Former West Central Railway (WCR) general manager Maheep Kapur, former WCR chief personnel officers Manoj Pande and P. L. Bankar; AK Infosystems; Dil Chand Kumar, Gyan Chand Rai, Hazari Rai, Mahesh Singh, Dhanif Ansari, Shatrudhan Rai, Vishwakarma Rai, Ashok Kumar Yadav, Ram Briksh Yadav, and Rajnath Singh were also named.
The CBI alleged that from 2004-2009, several substitutes for Group D posts were appointed in different zones of the Railways in exchange for land parcels. The beneficiaries, who were from Patna in Bihar, themselves or through their family members, allegedly sold or gifted their land to Mr. Prasad’s family members and the private company controlled by them.
The named company was used for transfer of properties to Mr. Prasad’s family members, it is alleged.
The CBI alleges that no advertisements or public notices were issued for the vacancies. Despite this, beneficiaries were inducted into the zonal railways in Kolkata, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Hazipur and Mumbai. Their applications and documents were collected and sent to the WCR for further processing. Here it is alleged that under the influence of the main accused, the general managers cleared the applications. The substitutes were later regularised.
Undervalued land
The CBI filed the first chargesheet against Mr. Prasad and 15 other accused persons, including his wife and Ms. Bharti, in October 2022. In January 2023, the agency received sanction for the prosecution of Mr. Prasad.
The ED had earlier alleged that land parcels measuring about 1.05 lakh sq ft in Patna were acquired by Mr. Prasad’s family members and in most cases, payments were in cash. As alleged, the properties directly transferred to them were bought at amounts ranging from ₹3.75 lakh to ₹13 lakh, much lower than prevailing circle rates. The Directorate has quantified the alleged “proceeds of crime” in the case to be currently worth ₹600 crore.
