land for job scam Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav is likely to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the national capital today for questioning in a case related to the alleged land-for-jobs scam. He was questioned by the central probe agency in the matter last month. The ED registered a separate case under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on the CBI’s FIR and is expected to record the statement of Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday, news agency PTI quoted sources as saying.
The ED had also questioned Yadav’s sister Misa Bharti in the case on March 25, the same day Yadav appeared before the CBI. Bharti, 46, is a Rajya Sabha MP from the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Both the central agencies recently took action in the case, with the CBI questioning former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi and the ED conducting raids against the RJD chief’s family. The ED said after the searches that it has seized “unaccounted cash” of Rs 1 crore and unearthed a crime of Rs 600 crore. It added that investigations are on to unearth further investments made by Prasad’s family and their associates at various places in various sectors including real estate.
About the ‘land for job’ scam
The case pertains to alleged appointments made to the Railways in lieu of land gifted or sold to Prasad’s family between 2004 and 2009 when he was Railway Minister. Indian Railways prescribed norms and procedures for recruitment.
It alleged that the candidates, in turn, directly or through their close relatives and family members, sold land at highly subsidized rates up to one-fifth of the prevailing market rates to the family members of RJD chief Prasad, the then railways minister.
(With PTI inputs)
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