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According to a press release from the federal investigation agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday attached properties worth over 6 crore linked to relatives of RJD leader Lalu Prasad in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Bihar's capital Patna in the land-for-jobs case.
According to the ED statement, the property in the national capital's New Friends Colony, which is registered in the name of M/S A B Exports Private Limited, was discovered to have been purchased in 2011 for a paltry 4 lakh rupees. According to the press release, "Despite being declared as the registered corporate office of various companies under the control of the Yadav family, the same is being used solely for residential purposes."
Along with a land parcel owned by Misa Bharti in Bihta, two Mahuabagh (Danapur) land pieces, one of which each is owned by Rabri Devi and M/s AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd, have also been attached, according to the ED.
Six movable assets with a book value of $6.02 crore that are located in New Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Patna have been provisionally attached by the agency, according to the statement.
The ED's action comes about a month after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a new charge sheet in the Land for Jobs case. In this case, it is alleged that Lalu Prasad illegally gave away railway jobs to some individuals in exchange for land parcels that were gifted or sold to him during his time as railway minister from 2004 to 2009.
Prasad, his wife, former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, and son, current deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, among others, were named in the charge sheet, which was submitted on July 3.
Tejashwi's name was listed among the suspects in the case for the first time at this time.
The CBI claims that no public notice or advertisement was made for the postings, but some Patna residents were chosen as "substitutes" in the railways of Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur.
The ED is looking into the case's potential money laundering implications.
The agency has previously searched 24 places, including family members of Lalu Prasad, in Ranchi, Mumbai, Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), Patna, and Delhi. The agency had asserted that it had seized incriminating papers, gold, jewelry, and undeclared cash totaling one crore rupees.
