Despite earlier clean chit, CBI reopens Lalu rail scam case
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has reopened a corruption case against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his son and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and daughters, which was reportedly closed in May 2021, sources said.
The CBI’s move to reopen the case came months after Bihar CM Nitish Kumar parted ways with the BJP and formed an alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) to form the government in the state.
In 2018, the CBI began a probe into allegations of corruption in the allotment of railway projects when Mr Yadav was handling the portfolio in the UPA-1 government. The inquiry into the matter was closed in May 2021, with CBI sources saying “no case has been made out of the allegations”. Apart from Mr Yadav, his son and Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, and daughters Chanda Yadav and Ragini Yadav have been named in this case.
The case alleges Mr Yadav received a South Delhi property as a bribe from real estate major DLF Group, which was interested in rail land lease projects in Mumbai’s Bandra and the revamp of New Delhi Railway Station.
It is also alleged that a property was bought by a DLF-funded shell company for Rs 5 crores — much lower than the then market rate of Rs 30 crores. The shell company was then bought by Tejashwi Yadav and his relatives for a mere Rs 4 lakhs by a transfer of shares, giving them ownership of the South Delhi bungalow, the case alleged.
The reopening of the case also sparked a political row as the “Mahagathbandhan” in Bihar cried foul over the reports of the reopening of the case against Mr Yadav.
Mr Yadav, who has been serving sentences in many fodder scam cases and
is out of jail on bail, is recovering after a kidney transplant surgery in Singapore earlier this month.
