Among the locations being searched is an under-construction shopping mall, Urban Cubes, in Sector 71 of Gurgaon which CBI sources claimed belongs to a top RJD leader. “The mall is owned by Whiteland Corporation Ltd where Tejashvi Yadav [Bihar Deputy Chief Minister] has a beneficial interest. Our investigations have found that the proceeds of crime from the ‘land for jobs’ deal by the Yadav family were diverted to this property,” said a CBI official.
Sources also said the raids are being carried out at the premises of RJD treasurer and MLC Sunil Singh as well as two Rajya Sabha MPs from the party, Faiyaz Ahmad and Ashfaque Karim. Apart from this, premises associated with former RJD MLC Subodh Rai were also raided. CBI officials, however, did not disclose the identity of these leaders.
This comes on a day when the Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government backed by the RJD will face a test of majority in the Bihar Assembly.
Last month, CBI had arrested Bhola Yadav, the former OSD to Lalu Yadav when he was the railways minister, and a railways employee in connection with its probe into the case. The case pertains to allegations that Lalu Yadav and his family took land to provide jobs to people in the Indian Railways.
The CBI had booked Lalu Yadav and his family members in a fresh case of corruption in May this year. The agency had also launched search operations at 17 locations on premises associated with Yadav and his family members, including his daughter Misa Bharti, among others.
The fresh case, according to the central probe agency, is based on allegations that when Lalu Yadav allegedly took land plots as bribes to give jobs to people when he was the railways minister in the UPA government.
The agency has alleged as many as 12 people were appointed in Group D posts in the Indian Railways from Patna when Lalu Yadav was the railways minister. In lieu of these appointments, family members of Lalu Yadav got seven plots of land in the city and elsewhere for a pittance. All these plots belonged to the families of those 12 people.
According to the CBI, Lalu Yadav’s family acquired over 1 lakh sq ft of land in this way for a meagre Rs 26 lakh when the then circle rate puts the cumulative value of the land at over Rs 4.39 crore.
The agency has named as many as 16 people, including Lalu Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, his daughters Misha Bharti and Hema Yadav and the beneficiaries of the entire process, as accused in the FIR. They together make up 16 accused.
The CBI initiated a preliminary enquiry in this regard in September last year.
Lalu Yadav has already been charge-sheeted in the case, also known as the IRCTC scam. The CBI in 2018 charge sheeted Yadav, his wife Rabri and son Tejashwi in the case.
The CBI has alleged that as the railways minister, Lalu Yadav favoured a company in the award of contracts of two IRCTC hotels for operation and maintenance. His family received a prime piece of land in Patna at a throwaway price from the owners of the company that bagged the contract as quid pro quo.
