Patna, May 11: Lalu Prasad’s family, one that he so zealously guards, has brought the railway minister and a pet project of his in a spot of trouble.

Lalu’s elder brother Gulab Rai has stalled construction work of a track connecting Hathua (Lalu’s home block) with Deoria in Uttar Pradesh. The new line will also pass through Phulwaria, Lalu’s ancestral village, and Selarkala, his wife’s village.

Gulab Rai stalled work alleging that he was not paid for his land that he gave up for the project.

If a railway official is to be believed, Gulab assaulted the official while stopping work. “He first asked me my name and when I answered him he slapped me,” said Phulwari Mishra, a railway engineer.

Gulab was not available for comment and said he was “ill and unable to speak”. His nephew Ramanand Yadav, however, admitted that while he was paid for his land — “My uncle (Gulab) was not paid for his 6,000-sq-ft plot.” “Gulab drove us away from work telling that he would not allow us to work till he got the money,” said a worker, Subodh Kumar, adding: “We are petty workers and can’t confront Gulabji.”

Though railway officials mostly refrained from commenting on the issue, district officials believed that the land in question originally belonged to the government that Gulab had forcefully occupied when Lalu was chief minister.

People in the railway circle is sure that Lalu will finally intervene in the matter to save his pet project — even though local residents seem less enthusiastic about the kilometre-long rail link.

“As if the road was not enough, now Laluji plans to show his love and bond with his wife’s village through this rail project,” said a JD(U) leader.

This is not for the first time that Lalu Prasad’s name has been dragged into the spotlight after his family got into some trouble. His brother-in-law forced a change of platform for Rajdhanti Express at Patna junction. Then the leader’s in-laws were caught travelling without tickets on their way to Selarkala in Gopalganj.