According to reports, the Lalu Prasad Yadav family’s property has been seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the land-for-railway-jobs fraud case. These include the Delhi and Patna homes of the Yadav family, as well as a residence in New Friends Colony.
As per various reports, Lalu Prasad Yadav, a prominent leader of the Rastriya Janata Dal (RJD), and his family have had assets worth $6 million seized by the Enforcement Directorate.
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), according to PTI, has been used by the ED to issue a preliminary order to seize the properties.
According to the agency report, the ED has recorded the statements of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s wife Rabri Devi, a former chief minister of Bihar, as well as those of Tejashwi Yadav, the state’s deputy chief minister, Misa Bharti, an RJD member of parliament, Chanda Yadav, and Ragini Yadav over the past few months.
Lalu Prasad served as the UPA-1 government’s railway minister during the time of the alleged scandal.
The news comes a day after Lalu Prasad Yadav, a vocal leader of the opposition INDIA alliance, claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would leave India and dwell abroad if and when the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) loses the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections in 2024.
In a jab at the BJP-led Central government, Lalu Prasad Yadav claimed on Sunday that the party will be “wiped out” in the future Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
The CBI had submitted a second chargesheet earlier this month in the case involving the land for job scam.
Lalu Prasad Yadav is accused of offering railroad jobs in exchange for property plots from applicants or their family, either as presents or at a discount. Although the investigation had begun two years prior, the case was only recently filed.
According to the CBI, Lalu Prasad Yadav allegedly received financial benefits between 2004 and 2009 in the form of the transfer of land into the names of his family members in place of the appointment of “substitutes” to Group D Posts in various railway zones.
The candidates were appointed in “undue haste” by the railway officials three days after applying. Later, when “the individuals themselves or their family members transferred their land,” they were also made regular.
A number of Patna people, or through their family members, allegedly sold or gave away their estates in the state capital to Lalu Prasad’s relatives and a private business that the former chief minister and his family owned.
It was claimed that the transfers were done using deeds in Rabri Devi’s name as well as the names of her daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav. The appointees who were residents of Patna were appointed as replacements in various zonal railroads in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur, despite the CBI’s claims that no advertisement or public notice was issued for such appointments.
