NEW DELHI: In connection with the Indian Railways land-for-jobs fraud, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carried out searches at various places on Tuesday, including those related to Kiran Devi, an RJD legislator, and Prem Chand Gupta, a Rajya Sabha member.
Bihar, UP, Delhi, and Haryana are the four states where the searches are taking place, according to CBI sources.
The searches were carried out after the suspected involvement of the two leaders in the scheme came to light, according to CBI sources. According to them, searches by the CBI were conducted at the homes of Kiran Devi and her husband Arun Singh in Arrah and Patna, Bihar, as well as at Gupta's homes in Gurugram, Rewari, Noida, and Delhi.
According to the allegations, Central Railway's appointments were made between 2004 and 2009, while RJD leader Lalu Prasad served as the Union Railway Minister. This is allegedly against recruiting standards and processes. It is said that several Patna citizens were appointed as substitutes in various zonal railways located in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hazipur despite the fact that no advertisement or public notice was made regarding the employment.
Additionally, the RJD chief allegedly offered Group D railway employment in exchange for land plots in the names of his relatives, including his daughters and son Tejashwi Yadav.
Prior to that, in July 2022, the CBI detained Bhola Yadav in connection with the case. Lalu Prasad used to be the Railway Minister, and Yadav was the OSD for him. On October 10 of last year, a chargesheet including allegations of corrupt behaviour and criminal conspiracy was lodged, listing about 16 individuals. Misa Bharti, a child of Lalu Prasad, and a number of other people were also mentioned in the final CBI report.
According to the CBI chargesheet, Lalu Prasad, his family, and numerous other people were the targets of a preliminary investigation that led to the filing of the case. In the FIR, it was claimed that between 2004 and 2009, in several railway zones in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur, certain people who claimed to be residents of Patna were hired as replacements in Group-D posts.
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