CBI Searches At Nine Locations Across 4 States In Land-For-Jobs Scam

New Delhi: The Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday conducted searches at multiple locations, including the premises of RJD MLA Kiran Devi and Rajya Sabha member Prem Chand Gupta in connection with the Indian Railways land-for-jobs scam. According to the CBI sources, the searches are being conducted at nine locations across 4 states – Bihar, UP, Delhi and Haryana.

The searches were conducted after the alleged role of the two leaders emerged in the scam, the CBI sources said. The CBI searches were spread across Arrah and Patna in Bihar at the premises of Kiran Devi and her husband Arun Singh and in Gurugram, Rewari, Noida and Delhi at the premises of Gupta, they said.

Why Is CBI Probing The Land-For-Jobs Scam?

It is alleged that during RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's tenure as Union Railway Minister from 2004-2009, appointments were made in Central Railways in violation of norms and procedures of recruitment. No advertisement or public notice was issued for the appointments but some residents of Patna were appointed as substitutes in different zonal railways located at Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hazipur, it is alleged.

The CBI also alleged that the RJD supremo offered Group D railway positions in exchange for land plots in the names of his family members, including his daughters and son Tejashwi Yadav.

Earlier, in July 2022, the CBI arrested Bhola Yadav, the man who served as Lalu Prasad's officer on special duty (OSD) when the latter was the Railway Minister, in connection with the case. Around 16 defendants were named in the chargesheet, which was submitted on October 10 of last year on charges of criminal conspiracy and corruption. The final CBI report also named Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti and several others.

The CBI chargesheet states that the case was filed as a result of a preliminary investigation against Lalu Prasad, his family members and several others. It was alleged in the FIR that some individuals, despite being Patna residents, were appointed as replacements in Group-D posts between 2004 and 2009 in various railway zones in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur.

In exchange, the individuals or their families allegedly transferred their lands into the names of Lalu Yadav's family and a business called AK Infosystems Private Limited, which was later acquired by the RJD supremo's family.