Lalu Yadav has been charged in a new corruption case over suspected irregularities in recruitment between 2004 and 2009, when he was Railway Minister, just weeks after being given bail in a fodder fraud case.
According to sources, the new case names Mr. Yadav’s wife, former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, daughter, Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti, and other family members as defendants.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began searching 15 places associated with the Rashtriya Janata Dal founder today, including his houses.
The CBI claims that Mr. Yadav and his family members were given land and assets as a bribe in exchange for railway posts.
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Last month, the 73-year-old senior lawmaker was granted bail in the 139 crore Doranda Treasury scam case by the Jharkhand High Court. In February, a CBI special court sentenced him to five years in prison in the case. He was also fined a whopping 60 lakh rupees.
Mr. Yadav was convicted in his sixth fodder fraud conviction in the treasury scam.
During the raids this morning, the video showed police officers at the Patna home of Mr. Yadav’s wife, former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi.
Mr. Yadav is in Delhi, according to RJD legislator Dr. Mukesh Roshan, while his son and party leader Tejashwi Yadav is also away. He claimed that “those in authority are attacking Lalu and Tejashwi Yadav because they are aware of their popularity.”
Alok Mehta, a senior party leader, stated, “This is a last-ditch effort to eliminate the opposition. These allegations are without merit. This is a deliberate attempt to quiet critics.”
The CBI’s decision to resurrect an old case against the RJD patriarch could be a message to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, according to Shivanand Tiwary, a senior RJD politician who has previously worked with the JD(U).
“The BJP is concerned about Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav joining forces to demand a case census. This is supported by the timing of the raids. Otherwise, why has the CBI suddenly taken up this case just as Nitish Kumar is planning to convene an all-party meeting on the demand for a caste census? “Mr. Tiwary explained.
Several raids have been done in connection with the “so-called Railway fraud,” according to the RJD, but nothing has been discovered.
“If the CBI needs to undertake raids 13 years later, you can appreciate what a horrible agency it is. The Lalu family will not bend and be terrified,” the Hindi tweet added.
Mr. Yadav and his family were dubbed “a symbol of corruption in Bihar” by BJP leader and MP Sushil Modi, who said that the RJD leader’s “modus operandi” was to entice those seeking jobs in exchange for land.
“The deal was that you give me land and I’ll offer you a Group D job on the railways in exchange. The land was first awarded in someone else’s name, then gifted to Yadav and his family (by the aforementioned Group-D employee) after 5-6 years “He made a claim.
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