NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Friday heaved a sigh of relief after a special Delhi court on Friday granted bail to
Rabri Devi, RJD supreme
Lalu Prasad's wife and to his son
Tejashwi Yadav who are co-accused in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) tender scam, reported news agency ANI.
In fact, the court granted bail to all the accused in the case. The court also said all the accused have to furnish a personal bond and surety amount of Rs 1 lakh each.
The development would have come as a welcome relief for the party which is semi-headless after its chief Lalu on Thursday surrendered before court yesterday (in another case).
Earlier on April 16, the CBI had filed chargesheet against altogether 14 persons including former railway minister Lalu Prasad, Rabri, Tejashwi, former union minister Prem Chand Gupta, his wife Sarla Gupta and others in connection with alleged corruption in handing out a contract for two IRCTC hotels to a private company owned by a Patna-based hotelier.
The case is related to the 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 Hotels, a company owned by Vinay and Vijay Kochhar, allegedly in return for a prime land near Patna through a 'benami' firm- the Delight Marketing Company- then allegedly owned by Prem Chand Gupta and his wife.
On Thursday, RJD president and
fodder scam convict Lalu surrendered before a CBI court on Thursday in Ranchi, Jharkhand, upon expiry of his provisional bail.
The RJD supremo, who arrived in Ranchi from Patna on Wednesday to surrender before the CBI court by August 30 after his bail extension was denied in a hearing on August 24.
After being sent to jail in December last year following conviction in the fodder scam case, Lalu spent a considerable time at the RIMS hospital, Ranchi and at the AIIMS hospital, New Delhi, for treatment of various ailments. He was also treated at a Mumbai hospital for three weeks and was discharged on August 25.
Yadav's Lawyer Prabhat Kumar said that the doctors of Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai, will do a medical check-up of Yadav and then inform Court about his condition.
The RJD leader was released on six weeks' provisional bail on May 11 by the Jharkhand High Court for medical treatment and was restrained from taking part in any public function, political activity or issuing statements to the media during the period.
(With inputs from agencies)
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav 
