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Former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last week for nearly two hours in connection with the land-for-jobs scam case. The CBI is investigating allegations that people were given employment in the railways in exchange for land parcels gifted or sold at cheap rates to the Yadav family and its associates. Prasad’s examination comes a day after his wife and former Bihar chief minister, Rabri Devi, was quizzed by the agency for nearly five hours at her Patna residence. The CBI officials said that the examination was part of “further investigation,” during which the agency is trying to ascertain the money trail and larger conspiracy.
A team of five CBI officials arrived in two cars at the residence of Misha Bharti in Pandara Park near India Gate on Tuesday last week, where Prasad is currently residing. The officials added that the entire exercise was video graphed, and Prasad was confronted with some documents in a special room where he is quarantined post his kidney transplant surgery. The CBI has already filed a charge sheet in the case against Prasad, Rabri Devi, and 14 others under charges of criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and all the accused have been summoned on March 15.
Prasad, who was convicted in a fodder scam, and his wife’s fresh questioning had evoked sharp criticism from opposition parties. Prasad's son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav termed the CBI action because of his family's "relentless opposition" to the BJP. Yadav claimed that Prasad, as Railway Minister, had no power to give employment in exchange for favours. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also targeted the central government, alleging that the saffron party wanted to "suppress" the voice of the opposition. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted, “Today Rabri Devi Ji is being harassed. Lalu Prasad Ji and his family have been harassed for years because they did not bow down." AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal commented on the situation, stating that targeting and harassing opposition leaders is wrong.
The land-for-jobs scam has been one of the biggest corruption scandals in Bihar, and it involves the transfer of government land to Yadav’s family in exchange for favours such as jobs for their relatives. The CBI alleges that Yadav and his family acquired three acres of land in Patna worth INR 32.5 million ($450,000) for which they paid only INR 54,000 ($747). The agency also alleged that the Yadav family members have stakes in firms that acquired land in several other cities across India at throwaway prices, which were later sold at market rates to make huge profits.
The investigation has been going on since 2017, and the CBI has already raided the premises of Lalu Prasad, his family members, and their associates in connection with the case. In 2018, the CBI filed a charge sheet against Lalu Prasad, his son Tejashwi Yadav, Rabri Devi, and others in the case. Later, the CBI initiated several raids and investigations against his family members and associates in the case. However, the Yadav family has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and they claim that the investigations are politically motivated.
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