Fresh Trouble For Lalu Yadav, Tejashwi In Land For Jobs Case, Court Issues Summons

The 'Land for Jobs' scam case pertains to Group-D appointments made in the West Central Zone of the railways based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during Lalu Prasad's tenure as the railway minister from 2004 to 2009 in return for land parcels gifted or transferred by the recruits in the name of the RJD supremo's family or associates, the ED said.

File Photo of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav with party leader Tejashwi Yadav. (ANI)

Land For Jobs Case: Trouble doesn't seem to end for former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family in the 'Land For Jobs' scam case. A Delhi court on Wednesday issued fresh summons against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his son and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, and six others in the 'Land For Jobs' money laundering case.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne directed the accused persons to appear before the court on October 7. The judge took cognizance of a supplementary chargesheet and passed the order. The final report was filed before the court by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on August 6. The central probe agency filed its case based on an FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The case pertains to Group-D appointments made in the West Central Zone of the railways based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during Lalu Prasad's tenure as the railway minister from 2004 to 2009 in return for land parcels gifted or transferred by the recruits in the name of the RJD supremo's family or associates, the ED said.

This is the first time Tej Pratap Yadav has been called in connection with this case. The court said that Tej Pratap Yadav's involvement could not be ruled out. Although he was not initially charge-sheeted, he was a director at AK Infosys Ltd. and has now been summoned.

Other charge-sheeted individuals have also been summoned. The court has included Akhileshwar Singh and his wife, Kiran Devi, in its summons. The ED filed a supplementary charge sheet on August 6, listing 11 accused. Four of these individuals have since died.

The court has directed Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tejaswi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, Akhileshwar Singh, Hazari Prasad Rai, Sanjay Rai, Dharmendra Singh, and Kiran Devi. The court also clarified that while Akhileshwar Singh was made an accused by the ED, his wife Kiran Devi was not initially charged. However, she is involved in the case for selling land to Misa Bharti in exchange for a job for her son, Abhisek. The court said that there is sufficient material to proceed further against the accused persons.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Delhi High Court granted bail to Lalu Prasad’s close aide Amit Katyal in a money laundering case linked to the alleged scam case in the Indian Railways, while deprecating the “pick and choose” policy adopted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The court noted that despite there being no arrest of any other accused in the case and irrespective of the fact that Katyal had joined the probe, he was arrested unceremoniously from the Indira Gandhi International Airport while he was travelling to Ranchi.

(With ANI, PTI Inputs)