Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct 7: The CBI filed a chargesheet in a court on Friday here against 16 people in the alleged job scam during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure as Railway Minister in the Congress-led UPA government over ten years ago, including him and his wife Rabri Devi both former chief ministers, whose son is currently Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.
The FIR was filed on May 18 against the husband-wife and two of their daughters, Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, as well as 12 people who were hired by the railways. The majority of them are out on bail.
The crux of the allegation is that Lalu Yadav’s family allegedly transferred over 1 lakh square feet of land belonging to job aspirants’ families in Patna in exchange for jobs.
The RJD has repeatedly stated that the CBI case, as well as several other cases against the Yadav family, are a “political ploy of the BJP’s central government.” Yadav’s son Tejashwi recently became Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s deputy in Bihar after the latter ditched the BJP to resurrect the JDU-RJD alliance.
Three months ago, the CBI arrested Lalu Yadav’s aide Bhola Yadav in connection with the “land-for-job scam.” Between 2005 and 2009, he was Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the then-railway minister, whom RJD supporters dubbed “Hanuman” or “shadow.”
Railway officials allegedly appointed job candidates as “substitutes” in Group D positions within three days of applying in “undue haste.” According to the agency, they were later given regular jobs after “individuals themselves or their family members transferred their land.”
It is also claimed that the land transfers were made through sale deeds in the names of Rabri Devi and her two daughters.
