New Delhi: As Bihar heads toward assembly elections, the Lalu Prasad Yadav family finds itself entangled in multiple corruption cases that could have significant political implications. The CBI court will today hear the high-profile IRCTC scam case at 10 a.m., with Lalu Prasad Yadav, his son and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, and other accused expected to be physically present in court.
The court will also take up the Land-for-Jobs case later in the day, in which charges are scheduled to be framed. However, the personal appearance of Lalu and Tejashwi is not required in this matter. According to the court schedule, the IRCTC case is listed third and the Land-for-Jobs case fourth for today’s hearing.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) special court at Rouse Avenue will also hear a related case involving businessman Amit Katyal, whose name surfaced in connection with financial transactions linked to the Yadav family. The accused have been exempted from personal appearance in this case as well.
During the last hearing of the Land-for-Jobs case on August 25, the court had reserved its decision after reviewing all arguments and evidence. The charges will be formally framed today.
The IRCTC Scam: How It Began
The IRCTC case dates back to 2004–2009, when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Union Railway Minister. The CBI alleges that two IRCTC hotels — in Ranchi and Puri — were leased out to Sujata Hotels through a rigged tender process. In return, the Lalu family allegedly received prime land in Patna.
The agency named Lalu, his family members, and former IRCTC officials — including then Group General Manager V.K. Asthana and Managing Director R.K. Goyal — among the accused. Vijay and Vinay Kochhar, directors of Sujata Hotels, are also charged in the case.
CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana told the court that the tenders for maintaining and improving the BNR hotels in Puri and Ranchi were manipulated to favor Sujata Hotels. The CBI filed an FIR in the case on July 17, 2017, and carried out raids at 12 locations, including properties linked to Vinay Kochhar.
The Land-for-Jobs Scam: Exchange of Land for Railway Employment
The CBI claims that the Land-for-Jobs scam was part of a larger conspiracy carried out between 2004 and 2009, also during Lalu’s tenure as Railway Minister. The agency alleges that several individuals were given jobs in the Indian Railways in exchange for transferring their land to members of the Lalu family, often at throwaway prices.
According to the CBI’s chargesheet, “in most cases, the land was transferred before the appointment letters were issued, and the transfers were made through gift deeds.” The probe also revealed that Lalu’s aide Bhalla Yadav visited villages to convince people to part with their land in return for railway jobs for their relatives.
In January 2024, both Lalu and Tejashwi Yadav were interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate for over 10 hours each in connection with this case. Sources said Lalu answered over 50 questions, often responding with a simple “yes” or “no,” and appeared irritated at several points during the questioning.
Key Land-for-Jobs Deals Uncovered
The CBI investigation uncovered multiple transactions linking land transfers to job allotments in the Railways:
- Deal 1: In February 2008, Kishun Dev Rai of Patna sold 3,375 sq. ft. of land to Rabri Devi for Rs 3.75 lakh. His relatives later secured Group D jobs in Central Railway, Mumbai.
- Deal 2: Sanjay Rai of Mahuabagh sold similar-sized land to Rabri Devi for Rs 3.75 lakh; two of his family members were later employed by the Railways.
- Deal 3: Kiran Devi sold 80,905 sq. ft. of land to Misa Bharti for Rs 3.7 lakh, after which her son got a job in Central Railway, Mumbai.
- Deal 4: Hazari Rai sold 9,527 sq. ft. to AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd — a company later taken over by the Yadav family — and his nephews got railway jobs in Jabalpur and Kolkata.
- Deal 5: Lal Babu Rai sold 1,360 sq. ft. to Rabri Devi for Rs 13 lakh; his son was appointed in the North Western Railway, Jaipur.
- Deal 6: Hridayananda Chaudhary, who got a job in Hajipur in 2005, transferred land valued at Rs 62 lakh to Hema Yadav in 2014 through a gift deed.
- Deal 7: Vishnu Dev Rai’s 3,375 sq. ft. land was transferred to Lalan Chaudhary, whose grandson Pintu Kumar got a railway job in 2008; the land was later transferred to Hema Yadav in 2014.
Both cases — IRCTC and Land-for-Jobs — continue to haunt the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch and his family, adding pressure as the election season heats up in Bihar.
