Ajit Karn
New Delhi: On Monday, a Delhi court summoned former railway minister Lalu Prasad, his wife, former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, and fourteen others in relation to the alleged land-for-job scam.
The matter involves alleged railway appointments made in exchange for land parcels gifted or sold to Mr. Prasad’s family while he was railway minister between 2004 and 2009.
The special judge Geetanjali Goel ordered the defendants to appear in court on March 15.
“A perusal of the charge sheet and the documents and other evidence on file indicates, prima facie, the commission of offences under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with Sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (Forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (using forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code and various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Accordingly, notice is taken of the above violations “judge stated.
The judge noted that the indictment was submitted without the detention of the defendants, with the exception of one who is currently out on bail.
In July 2022, the CBI apprehended Bhola Yadav, who served as Lalu Prasad’s officer on special duty (OSD) when he was railway minister.
The indictment was issued on October 10, 2012, charging sixteen defendants with criminal conspiracy and corruption offences.
In addition, the final report named Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti, the former general manager of Central Railway Sowmya Raghavan, the former CPO of Railways Kamal Deep Mainrai, seven appointed replacements, and four private individuals.
According to the complaint, Lalu Prasad and others were charged based on the results of a preliminary investigation.
It was alleged in the FIR that some individuals, despite being residents of Patna in Bihar, were appointed as substitutes in Group-D posts during the period 2004-2009 in various railway zones located in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur, and in lieu thereof, the individuals themselves or their family members transferred their land in the name of family members of Mr Prasad and a company, AK Infosystems Private Limited, which was subsequently acquired by the accused.
In addition, it was alleged that the family members of Prasad acquired approximately 1,05,292 square feet of land in Patna from those individuals through five sale deeds and two gift deeds, and in the majority of the sale deeds, payment to the purchasers was specified to be made in cash.
According to the existing circle rate, the land was worth approximately 4.39 crore.
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Mr. Prasad’s family members purchased the land directly from the sellers at a price below the prevalent circle rate. The prevalent land market value was significantly higher than the circle rate.
Allegedly, the proper procedure and guidelines issued by the railway authority for the appointment of substitutes were not adhered to, and their services were later regularised.
