In news that could raise the political temperature in Bihar, top Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sources have told CNN-News18 that the land-for-jobs scam — which alleges irregularities during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure as Railway minister in the UPA-I government — could emerge as one of the biggest frauds.
Sources said the agency is in possession of a hard disk that has a list of 1,458 candidates who allegedly gave their land to the Yadavs in return for jobs. The list, sources said, was prepared by Lalu Prasad’s son and now Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and was revealed after the CBI seized the disk during raids last month.
The sources said after taking their land in the name of friends and family, the consolidation of land also took place. Of these 1,458 cases, about 16 are already verified and have been proven correct in the CBI investigation so far.
The CBI is expected to write to the Railways soon to gather information about these candidates who, according to a witness, were recruited despite wrong data and certificates.
Sources said the agency will also look into the wrongdoings of railway employees in the next leg of investigation and at some stage, Tejashwi Yadav may be arrested because the evidence against him is “very strong”.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Lalu Prasad Yadav — during his tenure as Railway minister from 2004 to 2009 — “obtained pecuniary advantages” in the form of the transfer of landed property in the name of his family members in return for the appointment of substitutes in Group “D” Post in different Zones of Railways.
In its FIR, CBI alleged that “in lieu thereof, the substitutes, who were residents of Patna themselves or through their family members sold and gifted their land situated at Patna in favour of the family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav and a private company controlled by family members, which was also involved in the transfer of such immovable properties in the name of family members”.
The agency FIR further said: “Enquiry has revealed that about 1,05,292 sq feet of land located in Patna was acquired by family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav. Interestingly, in most of the cases of land transfer, payment to the sellers was shown to be paid in cash. The current value of land parcels, including the land acquired through gift deeds as per existing circle rate, is about Rs 4.39 crore.”
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