CBI Chargesheet Against Lalu Yadav, Family Members For Alleged Scam In Railway Jobs

New Delhi: 

In the alleged job scam during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure as Railway Minister in the Congress-led UPA government over 10 years ago, the CBI today filed a chargesheet in a court here against 16 people, including him and his wife Rabri Devi — both former chief ministers, whose son is currently Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.

The agency had filed the FIR on May 18 against the husband-wife and two of their daughters, Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, besides 12 people who got jobs in the railways. Most of them are on bail.

The nub of the allegation is that over 1 lakh square feet of land belonging to job aspirants’ families in Patna was allegedly transferred to Lalu Yadav’s family in return for jobs.

The RJD has repeatedly said this CBI case — and several other cases against the Yadav family — are “a political ploy of the BJP’s central government”. Mr Yadav’s son Tejashwi recently became deputy to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Bihar after the latter dumped the BJP to revive the JDU’s alliance with RJD.

The chargesheet in the “land-for-job scam” comes three months after the CBI arrested Lalu Yadav’s aide Bhola Yadav. Fondly referred to as “Hanuman” or “shadow” of Lalu Yadav by RJD supporters, he was Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the then railway minister between 2005 and 2009.

Job candidates were allegedly appointed as “substitutes” in Group D positions within three days of applying in “undue haste” by railway officials. They were later given regular jobs when the “individuals themselves or their family members transferred their land”, alleges the agency.