Lalu Yadav case: Enforcement Directorate attaches land in Patna

Patna: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached three acres of land belonging to RJD chief Lalu Yadav’s family in connection with money laundering probe in the IRCTC hotel scam case.

Reacting on the issue, former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said “There is no basis for the attachment of my property because no chargesheet has been filed despite several days of questioning. They are just harassing my family, I will give a detailed reply in the public domain after investigating agencies file charge sheet against me”.

The action comes a week after former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi was questioned by the investigating agency sleuths in Patna for almost eight hours.

It is alleged in the complaint case that in 2006, Lalu Yadav as railway minister handed over the maintenance of two Railway hotels BNR Ranchi and Puri to Sujata Group of Hotels in lieu of three acres of prime land through a shell company Delight Marketing Pvt. Ltd, now known as Lara  Projects.

Allegations against Rabri Devi and his son is that the ownership of Delight Marketing Company, which initially belonged to Sarla Gupta, wife of RJD leader Prem Chand Gupta, was transferred in their names after Kochar brothers got the tender of the hotels.

“They are doing this to stop us from raising questions about the failures of BJP. There is no evidence against my family that’s why they have not been able to file a chargesheet against us,” Lalu Yadav’s younger son and former deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav told reporters in Patna on Friday.

The estimated circle rate of the land is `45 crores but experts believe that the market price of the plot could cross `100 crores seeing the location of the property.

RJD chief Lalu Yadav had earlier alleged political vendetta over CBI raids, FIR and continuous IT and ED notice to the members of his family including his wife and son Tejashwi Yadav.

The Enforcement Directorate had registered a case against the family on July 27 this year following an FIR and multiple searches by CBI on Lalu Yadav’s property in New Delhi, Patna, and other places.

The CBI has already recorded the statements of Tejashwi and Lalu Prasad in this case.

The ED is investigating the alleged “proceeds of crime” generated by the accused, purportedly through shell companies, according to the officials.

Others named in the CBI FIR include Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar (both directors of Sujata Hotels), Delight Marketing company and the then IRCTC managing director P.K. Goel.

The CBI FIR was registered on July 5 in connection with favours allegedly extended to Sujata Hotels in awarding a contract for the upkeep of the hotels in Ranchi and Puri and receiving premium land as “quid pro quo.”