Patna: There is no respite for Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The former Bihar chief minister and president of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), who has already been convicted in the fodder scam and spent jail before getting bail, is now under the Enforcement Directorate (ED) scanner in connection with its money-laundering probe in the land-for-jobs scam, which dates back to 2004-09 when he was Union Railway minister.
ED on Tuesday issued summons to Lalu and his family members including wife Rabri Devi and son Tej Pratap Yadav. They have been asked to appear before the central agency on Wednesday, officials said.
ED has alleged that substitutes were appointed in Group D jobs during the 2004-09 period, which violated recruitment norms and procedures of Indian Railways.
The candidates allegedly sold land to Lalu’s family members at heavily discounted rates of one-fourth or one-fifth of prevailing market prices.
The ED probe is based on an FIR by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is conducting a parallel corruption probe against Lalu and his family members.
Both central agencies have filed multiple chargesheets in the case and obtained prosecution sanction against the RJD leader from relevant authorities.
In its August 2024 chargesheet under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), ED alleged that a company named AK Infosystems was incorporated by Lalu through close aide Amit Katyal so that he could hold several land parcels in Patna.
After the land parcels were acquired, Katyal transferred 100% of shareholding of the company to Rabri Devi (85%) and Tejashwi Yadav (15%) on June 13, 2014. Lalu’s wife and son thus became absolute owners of the land parcels held by AK Infosystems.
The probe agency said it has found Tejashwi’s link with another company, AB Exports Pvt Ltd (ABEPL), which is also controlled by Lalu’s family. Tejashwi owns 98.25% stake in the company and his sister Chanda Yadav 1.75%, according to ED.
Besides Lalu, Rabri, Tejashwi and Katyal, ED has named Lalu’s daughters Hema Yadav and Misha Bharti in the two chargesheets filed in the case so far.
