Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav talking to media at the old secretariat before the cabinet meeting in Patna on Wednesday. (Source: PTI)
Gravitated to full-time politics in 2012. Tejashwi Yadav is the only other family member besides Lalu and Rabri to be named in CBI’s FIR in the land-for-hotel case. Tejashwi has claimed that he was only 14 when the hotel deal was struck in 2005.
July 7, 2017: A team of 27 CBI sleuths raided Lalu Prasad’s residence — 10-Circular Road, Patna — after registering an FIR against him, his wife and former Bihar CM Rabri Devi and five others.
* It related to a 2006 case — of IRCTC, under then Railways Minister Lalu Prasad, transferring two hotels under it in Ranchi and Puri to Sujata Hotel Pvt Ltd, allegedly in violation of tender norms.
* The FIR said owners of Sujata Hotel had favoured the Prasad family a year before IRCTC transferred management of the two hotels.
* The FIR was registered under IPC Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. CBI conducted raids at 12 places, including in Puri and Ranchi.
February 25, 2005: Harsh Kochhar and Vinay Kocchar of Sujata Hotel Pvt Ltd sold a 3-acre prime commercial property in Patna through 10 sale deeds for Rs 1.47 crore to Delight Marketing Company Pvt Ltd. The FIR says Sarla Gupta, wife of Lalu’s “close associate and RJD Rajya Sabha MP PC Gupta”, was a director in Delight, which acted “as a front benami holder for and on behalf of Lalu Prasad Yadav”.
* The land, CBI says, was sold “at a price much below the prevalent circle rate as well as market rate”.
February 25, 2005: The day sale deeds were executed by Kochhars in favour of Delight Marketing, the Railway Board informed IRCTC about its transfer of BNR hotels to IRCTC.
* The FIR says Lalu, as then Railways minister, colluded with IRCTC officials, including then IRCTC MD P K Goel, to cause “undue pecuniary advantage” to Kochhars and got the two BNR hotels transferred.
September 16, 2006: IRCTC invited bid for developing, operating and maintaining “rail ratna” hotels, in four batches for various locations.
October 24, 2006: In what investigators call a criminal conspiracy, IRCTC did not invite separate bid for Puri and Ranchi hotels but issued “corrigendum no. 1”.
November 3, 2006: IRCTC again invited bids for rail ratna hotels specifying eligibility.
November 15, 2006: Second corrigendum issued, but without mention of corrigendum 1. Investigators say this was issued to “ensure” Sujata Hotel qualifies for the bid. There were only two bidders: Sujata Hotel and Hotel Kesari for BNR hotel Puri.
* Delight Marketing was later transferred to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav between 2010 and 2014, according to the CBI.
* They changed the company’s name to Lara Projects LLP, which is also named as one of the accused in the FIR.
* A mall was being built on the 3-acre plot sold by Sujata Hotel to Delight Marketing. Work on it has currently stopped due to environmental clearance issues.
