On Friday 7th October 2022, the central bureau of investigation (CBI) filed a charge sheet against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and former union railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav for cases regarding land-for-job scams. A search operation was conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the residences of senior RJD politicians in Bihar last month in relation to the land-for-jobs scam that allegedly occurred when Prasad was the railway minister.
BREAKING: CBI chargesheets former Union Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav for “Land-for-job-scam” cases
— LawBeat (@LawBeatInd) October 7, 2022
The residences of several senior leaders of the RJD, including MLC Sunil Singh, Rajya Sabha MPs Ashfaq Karim, and Faiyaz Ahmed, and former MLC Subodh Rai were raided at that time. The RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and their daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav have all been named by the CBI in the matter. 12 other individuals who received employment in the Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur Railway Zones in 2008-2009 are also named in this case.
The land-for-job scandal
On September 23, 2021, the CBI launched a preliminary investigation into the land-for-jobs scandal. The central investigation agency has opened a preliminary investigation into the claim that numerous people were granted railway employment between 2004 and 2009 in return for land. According to CBI authorities, prominent properties in Patna were reportedly sold or handed to the RJD supremo’s family members. The owners of these properties or their relatives secured a railway job in exchange for these properties.
On May 18, 2022, CBI filed a new case of corruption against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and his daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, accusing them of obtaining land plots as bribes from some people who were recruited in the Railways.
Lalu Prasad Yadav convicted in Fodder scam
The RJD patriarch has been convicted in the infamous Fodder Scam, which was unearthed during the 1990s in united Bihar when Jharkhand was still a part of the state. Lalu Prasad was then the serving Chief Minister.
It was found that excessive withdrawals had been the trend for several years. For example, between the years 1993-96, Rs. 10.5 crores was approved by the government to purchase 5,664 pigs, 40,500 hens, 1,577 goats and 995 sheep. However, the State Department of Animal Husbandry withdrew a whopping Rs 255.33 crore. After factoring in over-expenses, according to the Auditor General’s report, the total fraudulent withdrawals stood at Rs. 409.62 crores.
The Department of Animal Husbandry had allegedly issued fake bills for large disbursements from government treasuries across districts of undivided Bihar. It should be noted that Lalu Prasad had given himself the additional charge of the state’s Minister of Finance during this time.
The Auditor General’s comments while preparing the report on financial irregularities drew the imagery which became synonyms for the fodder scam. He commented, “cattle were transported on scooters, police vans, oil tankers and autos”.
