Trouble mounts for Lalu Yadav as CBI reopens 2018 graft case against him his family
Trouble has mounted for Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has reponed the graft case against him. Notably in 2018, the central agency started an investigation into the allegation of corruption in the allotment of Railway projects when Lalu Yadav was the Railway Minister in the UPA-1 government.
The initial investigation into the matter started in 2018 by the CBI, however, the probe was closed in May 2021. It is pertinent to mention that apart from Lalu Yadav, his son, Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, and daughters Chanda Yadav and Ragini Yadav are among those named in the case.
Notably, the central agency’s move to reopen the case comes months after JDU leader Nitish Kumar severed ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar and joined hands with the RJD to form the Mahagathbandhan government in the state. The reopening of the case against Lalu is expected to spark a political uproar in Bihar with the Opposition– BJP doubling its attack on the state government and the ruling alliance targetting the BJP for misusing the central agencies.
CBI reopens graft case against Lalu Yadav
The case pertains to the allegations that Lalu Yadav was bribed with a property in South Delhi by the real estate company DLF Group, which was interested in the renovation of the New Delhi Railway Station and rail land leasing projects in Mumbai’s Bandra neighbourhood.
It further alleged that a DLF-funded shell firm purchased a property in South Delhi for just Rs 5 crore, which is much less than the then-current market price of Rs 30 crore. Following this, Tejashwi Yadav and other kins of the former Bihar CM acquired the shell firm with a mere amount of Rs 4 lakh by transfers of shares, giving them possession of that South Delhi property, according to the case.
It is pertinent to mention that earlier in October, the CBI filed a charge sheet against former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and 14 others in collections with the alleged land-for-railway jobs scam.
