Today (March 15) the former Railway Minister, Lalu Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi will appear before the court in connection with the ‘Land for Job’ scam. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) presented the chargesheet of the case in October 2022. As per the chargesheet, the candidates revealed that they sold lands to Lalu and his family at reduced rates in exchange for a job.
In the said scam Lalu Yadav, the then railway minister flouted standard norms to provide jobs to candidates in a quid-pro-quo arrangement. The candidates appointed sold their or their immediate families property in a discounted rate to Lalu Yadav or his family members. The names of his daughters and son Tejashwi Yadav are also linked with the case.
Ahead of their hearing today, here is a list of revelations made in the CBI chargesheet. These statements have been given by the CBI officials and were reported by several media houses.
- As quid pro quo, the candidates directly or through their immediate relatives/family members sold land to the family members of Lalu Yadav at highly discounted rates up to one-fourth to one-fifth of the prevailing market rates.
- One more resident of the area was approached and pursued to transfer his land to family members of Lalu Yadav and was promised that in lieu of transferring his land the candidates nominated by him would get jobs in railways. However, he didn’t transfer his land. As per him also, the market prices of the above land parcels were much higher than the prevailing circle rates.
- Lalu Prasad Yadav, during the period 2007-08, when he was union minister of railways, with the intent to acquire the land parcels situated in Village Mahuabagh, Patna and Village Kunjwa, Patna which were situated adjacent to the land parcels already owned by his family members, entered into a criminal conspiracy with his wife Rabri Devi, daughter Misa Bharati, officers of central railways and others and in pursuance thereto irregular appointments of candidates were made in Central railway, violating the laid down norms of Indian railways for recruitment.
- The candidates after being appointed as substitutes were soon regularised. In wake of getting them appointed in railways, Lalu Prasad Yadav got the lands transferred owned by candidates and their family members in the names of his wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misha Bharti to keep the scale up.
- No advertisement or any public notice was issued for such appointment of substitutes in Zonal Railways, yet the appointees who were residents of Patna were appointed as substitutes in different Zonal Railways located at Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hajipur. In continuation of this modus operandi, about 1,05,292 square feet of land, immovable properties situated at Patna were acquired by Yadav and his family members through five sales deeds and two gift deeds, showing the payment made to the seller in cash in most of the land transfer.
A court in Delhi took cognizance of the chargesheet on February 27 and summoned all 16 accused, this included Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti and others.
Notably, Lalu’s son and Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Tejasvi Yadav was summoned by the CBI in relation to the case for the third time. As per the reports, Twjasvi did not appear before the CBI and this is the third time he has done so. Before today, he was summoned to join the investigation on March 4 and March 11. He has been excused from the interrogation citing his wife’s health issues.
