New Delhi : A Delhi court on Monday ordered the framing of charges against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, and their son Tejashwi Yadav in connection with the IRCTC scam case.
The case, investigated by the CBI, pertains to alleged corruption in the allotment of maintenance work contracts for two IRCTC hotels — BNR Ranchi and BNR Puri. It further claims that Lalu Yadav, while serving as Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009, received approximately three acres of prime land in Patna through a benami company.
The 77-year-old RJD patriarch is accused of abusing his position as a public servant and engaging in a conspiracy that manipulated the tender process during his tenure as Railway Minister. The charges allege that he influenced the eligibility conditions of the tender and orchestrated the undervalued purchase of land parcels from the Kochar family.
The court noted that Lalu Yadav conspired with other accused to transfer effective control of these land parcels to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav. Evidence presented by the CBI showed material modifications in the tender process and interventions by Lalu Yadav to influence the pace of transfer of hotels associated with the parcels.
The court observed that the undervaluation of these land parcels and the subsequent transfer of shares to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav raised serious concerns and allegedly caused financial loss to the state exchequer. The Court observed that Lalu Prasad Yadav intervened in the tender process, causing material modifications. Land parcels involved in the transaction were allegedly undervalued.
There is grave suspicion that multiple individuals engaged in a conspiracy to transfer control of land from the Kochar brothers to the family of Lalu Yadav. The court noted that the transfer of shares to Rabri Devi appeared prima facie fraudulent. There exists strong suspicion that Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav (A2 and A3) caused wrongful loss to the state.
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