The Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned RJD leader and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and her eldest son — Hasanpur MLA Tej Pratap Yadav — on Tuesday in the alleged railway land-for-jobs scam.
The ED summoned Rabri’s husband, RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday, while the party accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre of harassing RJD leaders.
Rabri, 66, reached the ED’s zonal office in Patna accompanied by eldest daughter and Pataliputra MP Misa Bharti at 11am. Tej Pratap arrived around 12 noon.
Party leaders and supporters were already present around the central agency’s office and raised slogans to express solidarity.
Rabri and Tej Pratap were questioned in separate rooms by different officials and were given a break in the afternoon.
While Rabri was questioned for four hours and came out at 3pm, Tej Pratap, who was questioned for the first time by the ED in this case, came out at 5pm.
Sources in the ED said that they were asked several questions pertaining to the property acquired by the members of Lalu’s family in Patna and Delhi, as well as, the beneficiaries of the alleged scam. Some were also related to investments related to buildings in their name.
The ED has filed a charge sheet, followed by a supplementary one for money laundering. The CBI is also probing the matter separately and has registered an FIR. The cases are currently being heard by the Rouse Avenue court in Delhi.
The land-for-jobs scam allegedly occurred between 2004 and 2009 during the tenure of Lalu as Union railway minister. The agencies have alleged that Lalu helped a large number of people from Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana in illegally securing Group D jobs in railway zones across the country in lieu of money and land. These posts were not advertised publicly for recruitment and the appointments were done in a clandestine manner.
RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said: "The activities of the central agencies will go on increasing as the Assembly polls draw closer. The same trend was witnessed at the time of the Lok Sabha polls last year."