ED searches premises linked to Tejashwi, Lalu’s 3 daughters | India News

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted nationwide searches on at least 24 premises allegedly associated with former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad, his three daughters, son and deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav in connection with the investigation in the railways land-for-job money laundering case. The “scam” pertains to a period during 2004-09 when Lalu was railways minister in the Congress-led UPA government and involves his alleged misuse of office to hand out jobs to persons in exchange for land plots that were transferred at nominal prices to the kin of the RJD boss.
According to ED sources, Tejashwi was present at the New Friends Colony house in New Delhi when a team of the anti-money laundering probe agency reached the premises. The searches were conducted also on the houses of Lalu’s three daughters — Ragini, Chanda and Hema — and his close associate Amit Katyal. The latter is linked to AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd, the alleged recipient of two of the plots belonging to the families of two persons who got jobs. The company is registered at D-1088 New Friends Colony where Yadav was present on Friday when ED officials entered the house. Officials claimed that Tejashwi stays at this house when he’s in New Delhi.
During the searches, Rs 53 lakh in cash, $1,900 in foreign currency, 540 gms of gold bullion, over 1.5 kg of gold jewellery and incriminating documents and electronic devices were seized, the ED said. The ED searches came soon after the CBI questioned Lalu and his wife Rabri Devi in its case registered in the land-for-job scam.

During 2004-09 when Lalu was Railways minister, some persons, especially from his home state Bihar, were allegedly appointed to Group D positions in different zones of Indian Railways. According to the ED’s enforcement case, “in lieu of these appointments, the concerned persons transferred their land to the name of family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav in AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd.”
The premises which were searched include the houses of Ragini Yadav and Chanda Yadav, both former directors of AK Infosystems, Hema Yadav, Amit Katyal, Syed Abu Dojana, Navdeep Sardana, Praveen Jain and offices of AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd, Brahma City Pvt Ltd, Elite Landbase Pvt Ltd, Whiteland Corporation Pvt Ltd and Meridian Construction India Ltd.

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The ED has claimed that while Ragini and Chanda Yadav were beneficiary directors in AK Infosystems, which had received a land parcel from a candidate, Hema Yadav was beneficiary of two land parcels received in lieu of jobs given to candidates in the Railways.

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“The family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav sold four such land parcels (two each by Rabri Devi and daughter Hema Yadav) illegally acquired at the cost of Rs 7.5 lakh, to Meridian Construction India Ltd, owned and controlled by Syed Abu Dojana, an ex-RJD MLA, from Sursand, Bihar for a consideration of Rs 3.5 crore,” the ED sources said. Premises of a chartered accountant in Ranchi was also searched.
Reacting to the searches, Lalu’s daughter Rohini Acharya, who is based in Singapore, posted on social media that her sisters are being tortured for their “only crime that Lalu and his wife Rabri Devi never knelt before BJP”.
Accusing Lalu of widespread corruption, former Bihar deputy CM and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi said, “Lalu adopted only one mantra while in power — You give me land, I will give you a job. Lalu has more than one lakh square feet of valuable land in Patna. Tejashwi should tell how he became the owner of a four-storey house worth billions of rupees in Delhi’s New Friends Colony. Also, Dojana is the man, who was getting Tejashwi’s mall built in Patna worth Rs750 crores.”