Land-for-jobs scam case: Rabri Devi, daughters granted interim bail
Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, and her daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, were granted interim bail on Friday by the Rouse Avenue Court in connection with the land-for-jobs scam case. The bail is valid until the next hearing, scheduled for February 28. In January, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued notices against Rabri Devi, Bharti, Yadav, businessman Amit Katyal, and a railway employee Hridyanand Chaudhary in the case.
Why does this story matter?
The land-for-job scam relates to former Union Railway Minister Lalu Yadav providing railway jobs in exchange for plots during his tenure (2004-09). The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are separately probing the alleged scam. Besides Yadav, his family and associates are also being investigated by the central agencies. The ED's case was based on an FIR filed by the CBI, which accuses Yadav of corruption in appointing Group D substitutes in Indian Railways between 2004 and 2009.
ED allegations against Rabri Devi, others
On January 1, the ED filed a prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against Rabri Devi, her daughters, and Katyal, and two companies, AK Infosystems Private Limited and AB Exports Pvt. Ltd. The complaint was submitted to a special PMLA court in New Delhi. The ED has alleged that Rabri Devi, Bharti and Yadav received land parcels at nominal prices from the families of selected candidates in exchange for jobs in the railways.
AK Infosystem also involved in scam: ED
The ED's allegations against AK Infosystem, established by Katyal in 2006, state that the company claimed to specialize in IT data analysis but was not conducting any actual business. Instead, the company purchased several land parcels, including one linked to the primary land-for-job offense. Moreover, in 2014, AK Infosystem was transferred to Rabri Devi and former Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav for a sum of Rs. 1 lakh. The ED arrested Katyal in November last year.
Timeline of land-for-jobs scam
The ED first started investigating the alleged scam in 2002. In July 2023, the agency seized properties worth Rs. 6 crore linked to Yadav and his family. It also summoned Tejashwi on December 22; but he did not appear before the federal agency. The ED then filed the prosecution complaint (charge sheet) for money laundering on January 9.
