The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has informed the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi that sanctions have been obtained from the Home Ministry to file a fresh chargesheet in the alleged Land for Job Scam case involving former Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. However, the sanctions against three former railway officials are still pending and are expected to be received within a week. The Court has scheduled the next hearing for September 21.
During the previous hearing, the CBI had requested time to obtain sanctions from the competent authorities to prosecute Lalu Prasad and the three former Railways officials in the Land for Job scam case.
Recently, the CBI filed a chargesheet in the Land for Job alleged scam case, naming Lalu Prasad, Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, and others as accused. This marks the second chargesheet in the Designated Court, involving 17 accused, including the former Union Minister of Railways, his family members, and various individuals in connection with the Land for Job Scam.
The case, registered on May 18, 2022, alleged that the former Union Minister of Railways had received pecuniary advantages by transferring land property to his family members in exchange for appointing Substitutes in Group “D” Post in different Railway Zones. The substitutes, who were residents of Patna, were appointed without advertising or issuing public notices for such appointments. They were subsequently engaged as Substitutes and then regularized.
The accused had allegedly collected applications and documents from candidates seeking employment in Railways through associates and family members, which were then sent to West Central Railway for processing and job placement. The General Managers of West Central Railways approved the engagement of these candidates under the influence and control of the accused.
Additionally, the accused were alleged to have devised an indirect method where candidates were first engaged as Substitutes and later regularized. A hard disk containing lists of engaged candidates was recovered during searches.
The investigation revealed that the former Union Minister of Railways, with the intent to acquire land parcels connected to him or owned by his family, entered into a conspiracy with associates and family members to offer group D employment in Railways in exchange for land. The accused purchased land parcels through a private company, which was later transferred to his wife and son for a nominal amount despite the higher market value of the land.
The CBI had previously filed a chargesheet against 16 accused on October 7, 2022, and the investigation is ongoing.
