NEW DELHI: Former Bihar chief minister
Rabri Devi
, along with her
daughters Misa Bharti
and
Hema Yadav
, has been granted
interim bail
on Friday by the Rouse Avenue Court in connection with the
land-for-Jobs scam case
. The bail is valid until the next date of hearing, which is scheduled for February 28.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier issued notices against Amit Katyal, Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti, Hema Yadav, and Hridyanand Chaudhary to appear on February 9, 2024, for further trial in the alleged ‘land for job scam’.
Lalu Prasad’s family – wife Rabri and daughters – appeared before the court, while Katyal appeared through video conferencing.
The ED had filed a prosecution complaint on January 1, 2024, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against the four and two companies – A K Infosystems Private Limited and A B Exports Pvt. Ltd. The complaint was filed before the Special Court (PMLA) in New Delhi.
The investigation by the premier agency was initiated based on an FIR registered by the CBI, alleging corruption by Lalu Yadav, the then Railway Minister, in the appointment of Group D substitutes in Indian Railways between 2004 and 2009. The candidates were allegedly asked to transfer land as a bribe in return for jobs in Indian Railways. On January 9, the ED filed a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) in the land-for-a-job scam money laundering case.
According to the ED, Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti, and Hema Yadav received land parcels from the families of selected candidates for nominal amounts. The ED further stated that in 2006-07, AK Infosystem was formed by Katyal, which claimed to be in the business of IT data analysis but did not engage in any real business. Instead, the company purchased several land parcels, one of which is related to the main offense of land for a job. The company was later transferred to Rabri Devi and Tejaswi Yadav in 2014 for a consideration of Rs 1 lakh, the ED submitted.