Land-for-jobs scam case: ED raids Tejashwi Yadav’s Delhi home, 15 other locations in 3 states

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is carrying out raids at the Delhi residence of Bihar deputy chief minister and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son Tejashwi Yadav in the land-for-jobs scam case. The ED officials started the raids at around 8:30 at the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader’s residence. The central agency has also searched the residence of Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Jitendra Yadav in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad. Jitendra Yadav is the husband of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Ragini. 

Besides this, searches were also conducted at 15 other locations in three states– Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai– in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) scam. Properties linked to RJD leader and Lalu Yadav’s aide Abu Dojana are also being raided in Bihar’s capital city Patna. 

These raids follow former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav’s questioning by the CBI in the land-for-jobs scam. The case is about people allegedly given employment in the railways in return for land parcels gifted or sold at cheap rates to the Yadav family and their associates. 

The central agency has accused Lalu Prasad Yadav of transferring landed property in the name of his family members as the Railway Minister from 2004-09 in lieu of appointment of substitutes in Group “D” Post in different zones of Railways. The CBI found seven instances wherein jobs were allegedly given to candidates when their family members transferred lands to the RJD chief’s family. 

The CBI said in the FIR that “in lieu thereof, the substitutes, who were residents of Patna themselves or through their family members sold and gifted their land situated at Patna in favour of the family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav and a private company controlled by family members, which was aslo involved in the transfer of such immovable properties in the name of family members.”

(With India Today inputs)

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