The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday informed a Delhi court that it has “largely completed” the verification of the accused in the alleged land-for-jobs scam involving RJD chief Lalu Prasad, his family members and others.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne, who is hearing the matter on whether sufficient evidence exists to frame charges against the accused, had on 4 December directed the CBI to file a report after verifying the status of all accused persons in the case.
Of the 103 accused named, four have died.
Recording the submission made by the agency, the court noted, “It is submitted by the senior counsel for the CBI that the verification in terms of the previous orders has been largely completed.”
“It is stated that the accused Ashwani Kumar Malhotra (accused 89) is learnt to have expired. Some time is sought by the CBI for filing the Death Verification Report (DVR) regarding the said accused, as well as verifying the status of any remaining accused,” the court further recorded.
The court subsequently posted the matter for further hearing on 19 December.
Earlier, on 10 November, the judge had deferred the order on framing charges against the accused until 4 December.
The CBI has filed chargesheets against Lalu Yadav, his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, their son and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, and others in connection with the alleged scam.
According to the prosecution, appointments to Group-D posts in the Indian Railways’ West Central Zone based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, were made during Lalu Yadav’s tenure as railway minister between 2004 and 2009 in return for land parcels that were gifted or transferred by the recruits in the names of the RJD supremo’s family members and associates.
The agency has alleged that the appointments were made in violation of prescribed norms and that the land transactions involved benami properties, amounting to criminal misconduct and conspiracy.
All the accused have denied the allegations and claimed that the case is politically motivated.
