Land-for-jobs case: ED grills Rabri, Tej for over four hours

Patna: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday separately questioned former CM Rabri Devi and her son Tej Pratap Yadav for more than four hours in a mand oney laundering case linked to the land-for-jobs scam. The case relates to alleged irregularities during the tenure of RJD chief Lalu Prasad as railway minister in the UPA govt from 2004 to 2009.
Sources said the ED had summoned Lalu's wife and son to its Patna office to verify new inputs received in the case. Over the past few days, ED officials also met beneficiaries who had allegedly sold their land in exchange for railway jobs. They included people from Dhanaut in Patna, Kathari Bagh in Saran as well as Samastipur and Gopalganj.
Rabri was asked how she knew those who had been given Group D jobs in the railways, allegedly in exchange for land parcels. She was also questioned about her youngest son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav's bungalow in Delhi's New Friends Colony, her source of income for purchasing the land parcels and when she first met the job beneficiaries. Investigators also sought details about the land near Saguna Mor, where an apartment is under construction.
Lalu's daughter, MP Misa Bharti, who accompanied her mother to the ED office, said both had cooperated with the investigation. She also confirmed that Lalu would appear before the ED on Wednesday. "It may be political because they do it when the election is approaching," said the Patliputra MP. Assembly elections are due in Bihar later this year.
Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of Lalu, was questioned by the ED in this case for the first time. Officials, according to sources, asked him and Rabri pointed questions about the job beneficiaries and how they knew those who had allegedly gifted them land in exchange for railway jobs during Lalu's tenure.
Last year, Lalu, his youngest son Tejashwi Pratap Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav were granted bail by the Rouse Avenue court in Delhi in a money laundering case linked to the alleged scam. The CBI is also probing the matter.
The ED has already filed a chargesheet in the case, alleging that a company was set up to purchase land from jobseekers. The chargesheet names Rabri Devi, her daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav as well as companies A K Infosystems and AB Exports Pvt Ltd (ABEPL). Others named included former railway employee Hridyanand Chaudhary and A K Infosystems' director Amit Katyal, who was arrested last year for allegedly conspiring with Lalu to acquire land parcels in Patna and other parts of Bihar from job aspirants. Rabri is accused of benefiting from the proceeds of crime and allegedly using a shell company to transfer funds to Tejashwi, which were purportedly used to construct a property in Delhi's New Friends Colony.
According to the ED, after acquiring the land parcels, shares of A K Infosystems were transferred to Lalu's family members in 2014 for just Rs 1 lakh, despite the company allegedly owning land worth Rs 1.77 crore. The agency submitted to the court that A K Infosystems was used as a tool to conceal the proceeds of crime.
Meanwhile, hundreds of RJD workers gathered outside the ED office, chanting slogans in support of Lalu and Rabri.