New Delhi: A Delhi court has granted bail to RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) chief Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, and their son, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, in connection with an alleged land-for-job scam within the railways.
Special Judge Geetanjali Goel provided relief to them after they appeared in court in response to summons issued against them.
The court had summoned them on September 22 after taking cognizance of the charge sheet filed against them and other individuals. The evidence “prima facie” suggested the commission of various offenses, including corruption, criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a charge sheet in this alleged scam on July 3. Lalu Prasad was already out on bail in this case, as well as in the fodder scam cases. This is the second charge sheet filed by the CBI in this particular case, but it is the first one in which Tejashwi Yadav has been named as an accused.
The case revolves around Group-D appointments made in the West Central Zone of the railways, located in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during Lalu Prasad’s tenure as the railway minister from 2004 to 2009. Allegedly, these appointments were made in exchange for land parcels gifted or transferred by the recruits in the name of Lalu Prasad’s family or associates.
The CBI initiated the case on May 18, 2022, against Lalu Prasad and 15 others, including his wife, two daughters, and unidentified public servants and private individuals. The first charge sheet related to appointments made in the Mumbai-headquartered Central Zone of the railways and was filed by the CBI in October of the previous year.
