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This scam pertained to land bribes in exchange for Indian Railways Group D jobs during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure as the Railways Minister from 2004 to 2009, with allegations that he and his family had accepted such bribes.
The Rouse Avenue Court, through an order dated March 11, granted bail to Tej Pratap Yadav and Hema Yadav concerning their alleged involvement in the ‘land for jobs scam’. Special Judge Vishal Gogne held, “none of the applicant-accused persons were arrested during the course of the investigation. This circumstance is reason enough for admitting them to bail. The applications for bail are allowed”.
On July 3, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a chargesheet against Lalu Prasad Yadav, who remained the national president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), along with his wife and former Bihar Chief Minister, Rabri Devi, and their son, the State’s Deputy Chief Minister, Tejashwi Yadav, in connection with the alleged scam.
This chargesheet marked the second one filed by the CBI in the case. Apart from the three members of the Yadav family, the federal agency also named 14 individuals and entities as accused in the chargesheet. The accused were charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
According to the CBI, Lalu Prasad Yadav, in his capacity as the Railways Minister from 2004 to 2009, had allegedly received financial benefits through the transfer of land properties in the names of his family members in exchange for appointing substitutes in Group D positions across various Railway zones, including Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Jabalpur, and Hajipur.
The agency further alleged that no advertisement or public notice had been issued for these appointments in the Zonal Railways. However, substitutes from Patna had been appointed in different Zonal Railways, and the process of approving their applications had been expedited. Additionally, the CBI claimed that the prescribed procedure and guidelines issued by the Railway Authority for such appointments had not been adhered to, and subsequently, the services of these appointees had been regularized.
Notably, the CBI had filed the first chargesheet in the case in October 2022 against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, and others, specifically addressing appointments made in the Mumbai-headquartered Central Zone of the Railways.
For Accused: Advocates Varun Jain, Navin Kumar and Akhilesh SinghFor CBI: Special Public Prosecutor Senior Advocate D.P. Singh with Advocates Manu Mishra, Garima Saxena and Imaan KheraCase Title: CBI v Lalu Prasad Yadav (CC No.59/2022)
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