New Delhi: Former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday sought 15 days from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to appear for questioning in a case related to alleged corruption in giving the contract for running two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels to a private firm in 2006, people aware of the development said.
Tejashwi, who was summoned to appear Tuesday, sent his counsel who submitted the request seeking time to appear before the investigation team, CBI officials said. The contracts were given in 2006 when his father Lalu Prasad was the Union railway minister.
The case pertains to allegations that Lalu Prasad, as railway minister, handed over the maintenance of two hotels run by the IRCTC, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, in Ranchi and Puri to Sujata Hotel, a company owned by Vinay and Vijay Kochhar, in return for a prime plot of three acres in Patna through a benami company.
The FIR alleged that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader, as the railway minister, abused his official position for extending undue favours to the Kochhar and acquired a “high value premium land” through a benami firm Delight Marketing Company. As a quid pro quo, he “dishonestly and fraudulently” managed award of leasing of the two hotels.
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After the tender was awarded to Sujata Hotel, the ownership of Delight Marketing also changed hands from Sarla Gupta to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav between 2010 and 2014. By this time, Lalu Prasad had resigned as railway minister.
The CBI has registered the case against Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, a former Bihar chief minister, son Tejashwi, who was deputy CM until a few months ago, and Sarla Gupta, wife of Prem Chand Gupta, a former union minister. Others named as accused in the FIR include Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar, both directors of Sujata Hotels and owner of Chanakya Hotel, Delight Marketing Company, now known as Lara Projects, and then IRCTC managing director P.K. Goel.