New Delhi: Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi on Thursday (May 18) appeared before Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the alleged land-for-jobs scam.
The probe agency recorded the statement of the former CM for 2.5 hours in the morning. She again joined the investigation after lunch.
She is being questioned in the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Earlier, she was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in March questioned RJD chief and former railway minister Lalu Prasad in connection with the land for jobs case. Rabri Devi's children, including Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and MP daughter Misa Bharti, have been questioned by the federal agency in this case in the recent past.
Bail to Rabri Devi
On March 15, RJD chief and his wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharti were granted bail by a Delhi court in connection with the case.
The court noted that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the case, filed the chargesheet without arrest. It directed every accused to furnish Rs 50,000 personal bail bond and a similar amount as surety. Court also granted bail to other 13 accused person in the related case.
About 'Land for job scam'
The case relates to alleged appointments made in the railways in return for land parcels gifted or sold to Prasad's family when he was the minister of railways between 2004 and 2009. The CBI in its charge sheet alleged that irregular appointments were made in the railways, violating the laid down norms and procedures of Indian Railways for recruitment.
It alleged that as a quid pro quo, the candidates directly or through their immediate relatives and family members sold land to the family members of RJD chief Prasad, then railway minister, at highly discounted rates up to one-fifth of the prevailing market rates. The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR. The ED had carried out searches in this case sometime back and seized "unaccounted cash" of Rs 1 crore and detected proceeds of crime worth Rs 600 crore. The alleged scam pertains to the period when Lalu Prasad was the railway minister in the UPA-1 government.
What was mentioned in FIR
It was alleged in the FIR that some persons, although residents of Patna in Bihar, were appointed as substitutes in Group-D posts during the period 2004-2009 in different zones of the railways located in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hajipur and in lieu thereof, the individuals themselves or their family members transferred their land in the name of family members of Prasad and a company, AK Infosystems Private Limited, which was subsequently taken over by the family members of Prasad.
It was further alleged that about 1,05,292 square feet land situated in Patna was acquired by the family members of Prasad from those persons through five sale deeds and two gift deeds and in most of the sale deeds, payment to the sellers was mentioned to be paid in cash.
The value of the land as per existing circle rate was about Rs 4.39 crore, the CBI alleged. The land was directly purchased by the family members of Prasad from the sellers at a rate lower than the prevalent circle rate, the CBI said, adding that the prevalent market value of the land was much higher than the circle rate.
It was alleged that the due procedure and guidelines issued by the railway authority for the appointment of substitutes were not followed and later on, their services had also been regularised.
(With agencies input)
