ED chargesheets Lalu Yadav, family in railway scam, hours after court rejects bail plea

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday filed its first charge sheet in the IRCTC hotels allotment case against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav, RJD MP PC Gupta, his wife Sarla Gupta and others for allegedly laundering money.

The charge sheet filed in a Delhi court alleges irregularities in the sub-leasing of two railway hotels at Puri in Orissa and Ranchi in Jharkhand to a company named Sujata Hotel Pvt Ltd, in return of prime land in Patna that was transferred to Delight Marketing Company Pvt Ltd owned by PC Gupta’s family. This deal was struck in February 2005, when Lalu Yadav was the union minister of railways, and the land transfer to Delight Marketing was at a rate much lower than the prevailing circle rates.

“The said company possessing valuable chunk of land gradually got transferred to Smt Rabri Devi and her son Tejashwi Yadav...,” ED said. The Directorate also alleged that the funds used to acquire the land in Patna had dubious origins and was laundered through companies belonging to PC Gupta’s family.

This came hours after the Jharkhand High Court rejected Lalu Prasad’s plea for extension of provisional bail period for another three months and asked him to surrender by August 30.

Moving the court for the third extension of his provisional bail for continuing treatment at a superspecialty hospital in Mumbai, Prasad, who had undergone surgery for anal fistula, said his health condition has not improved as the infection continues. Rejecting his plea for further extension of bail, a bench of justice Aparesh Kumar Singh observed that Prasad’s current health condition is not life threatening.

First Published: Aug 24, 2018 18:29 IST