CBI to summon Rabri Devi in hotel scam

New Delhi: The CBI probing the IRCTC’s hotel scam is all set to examine former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi in connection with the case.

Sources in the Central probe agency said the CBI will soon issue summons to Rabri Devi for questioning. Besides, the agency may also confront her with other accused in the case during examination, they added.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is also probing the case, has already questioned Rabri Devi, wife of RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, in connection with the case. The CBI has already examined Lalu Yadav as part of its investigation into the case. The ED recently registered a money laundering case against  Lalu Prasad and his family members in connection with the case. The ED’s case was registered under the stringent provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED took cognisance of a CBI FIR in this regard to initiate the move. The CBI in the month of July, 2018 had registered a corruption case in this regard and conducted multiple searches against the former Bihar chief minister and others.

The case dates back to the time when Lalu Prasad was the railway minister in the UPA government. Others named in the CBI FIR include Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar (both directors of Sujata Hotels), Delight Marketing company, now known as Lara Projects, and the then IRCTC managing director P K Goel. The CBI FIR alleged that Prasad, as railway minister, handed over the maintenance of two IRCTC hotels to a company after receiving a bribe in the form of prime land in Patna through a ‘benami’ company owned by Sarla Gupta.

The 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”.