The Central probe agency—Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out raids at 15 locations in three states in connection with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) scam. Raids were also carried out at the house and office of RJD leader and Lalu Prasad Yadav's aide Abu Dojana in Patna and Ranchi.
The ED sleuths on Friday morning conducted raids at office premises of Abu Dojana at Kadru. Abu Dojana, a former MLA from Sursand in Sitamarhi is considered close to Lalu Prasad. The Central investigating agencies have not given any official statement regarding the raid. The Kadru area of Ranchi is also included in the simultaneous raids at several locations including Bihar Delhi-NCR.
The information regarding what has been found from Ranchi in this raid has not yet come to the fore. Search has been going on here since morning. Abu Dojana's company was looking after the work of the biggest mall of the state being built near Saguna More in Patna, this mall was said to belong to the Lalu family. However, at present the construction work of the mall has stopped.
The mall's construction was undertaken by Meridian Construction India Limited, a company belonging to Abu Dojana. In 2018, the ED seized a mall in Patna which was under-construction. It was built by Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family. The BJP had alleged that the mall was built on benami property acquired by the RJD supremo and his family without getting clearance from the government.
The case is related to the alleged corruption in accepting land in lieu of a job in the Indian Railways.
According to the CBI, when Lalu Prasad served as the railways minister of Bihar from 2004 to 2009, he had obtained pecuniary advantages in the form of land transferred to his family members in return for appointment of substitutes in Group “D” posts in different zones of the Railways.
The land was registered in the name of Delight Marketing Private Limited in 2005. The total book value of the land was Rs. 19 crore whereas the present market value of the land is around Rs. 44.60 Crore. Later, Delight Marketing Private Limited was renamed Lara projects LLP in 2016. Rabri Devi and her younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav are the two shareholders of the firm holding 85% and 15% shares respectively. It is alleged that Delight Marketing Private Limited as well as Lara projects LLP are shell companies run by Lalu Yadav’s family.
A multi-storied mall with provisions for a five-star hotel multiplex shopping complex office tower and 1000 shops were also planned to be developed on the land by Meridian Construction India Limited. But the project suffered a roadblock as environmental clearance for the project was not obtained. The Income Tax Department had issued an attachment order of 12 properties owned by Lalu Prasad and his family members in Patna and Delhi including the land at Saguna More farmhouse and land in Palam Vihar in the same case.
In Ranchi, the ED officials learnt to have searched the office premises of a Chartered Accountant Ajay Kumar who is said to be associated with a CA firm named SK Naik.
