PATNA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday provisionally attached properties worth around Rs 6 crore allegedly linked to RJD chief Lalu Prasad's family in Patna and Delhi-NCR region in the land-for-jobs in railways scam case, inviting sharp reaction from the Grand Alliance partners in the state.
The ED, in a statement, said it has attached assets worth more than Rs 6 crore belonging to Lalu's wife and former CM Rabri Devi and their daughter Misa Bharti and their linked companies as part of its money laundering investigation against them in an alleged land-for-jobs in railways scam of 2004-09 period when Lalu was the railway minister. It is alleged that Lalu misused his office to provide jobs to persons in exchange for plots of land transferred to his kin at nominal prices.
A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued to attach the six immovable assets.
The assets are located at Mahuabagh (Danapur) in Patna, Ghaziabad (UP) and a four-storey bungalow at D-1088 in the New Friends Colony area of south Delhi, the agency said in a statement. The properties attached also belong to A K Infosystems Pvt Ltd allegedly controlled by the RJD first family and a plot of land owned by Misa in Bihta area of Patna district.
Also attached is a portion of two industrial plots registered in the names of Vineet Yadav and Shiv Kumar Yadav, the husband and father-in-law respectively of Lalu’s another daughter Hema Yadav, in the Sahibabad industrial area of Ghaziabad, the statement said.
The ED has alleged that Rabri and Hema sold four land parcels “illegally” acquired from appointees in the railways to Meridian Construction India Ltd, a company related to former RJD MLA Syed Abu Dojana, and the proceeds of crime so obtained by Rabri and Hema were further transferred through transactions to A B Exports Pvt Ltd and M/s Bhagirathi Tubes respectively.
“Rabri and Hema sold these land parcels for Rs 3.5 crore against the acquisition cost of Rs7.5 lakh, thus deriving huge gains,” the ED claimed. It said Bhagirathi Tubes is a partnership firm under the control of Hema’s in-laws. It said the south Delhi flat, registered in the name of A B Exports Private Limited at a value of mere Rs 4 lakh.
The ED has been investigating the case filed on July 27, 2017 on the basis of an FIR earlier lodged by the CBI on July 5 against Lalu, Rabri and their son and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav among others. Reacting over the development, RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said, “Claims about attachment of properties worth Rs6 crore show how the central agencies are being used by the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to harass the constituents of opposition ‘INDIA’ .
Such actions are unconstitutional as well as illegal. Nevertheless, they must note that it is Bihar, which has faced all sorts of challenges. We hope to get justice from the judiciary.” Another RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad alleged the ED chief has been given an extension till September 15 so that the Centre could misuse the central agency to harass the opposition parties in the country, especially Lalu and his family. RJD’s ally JD(U) spokesman Abhishek Jha called it a political vendetta.
“Entire country is seeing the way BJP has been misusing central agencies to harass and demoralize opposition parties,” Jha said. BJP, however, called the action as part of the ongoing investigation in the case. “Nevertheless, it is all because of unending greed of amassing properties. He (Lalu) was not satisfied with the fodder scam and went ahead with more scams, like land- for-jobs and railways tender scam,” BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel said.