Shruti Suman
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed the first chargesheet in the “railways land-for-jobs” money laundering case, linking former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, her MP daughter Misa Bharti, and others. The chargesheet, filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi, includes names such as Hema Yadav, Amit Katyal, Hridayanand Chaudhary, and two firms, AK Infosystems Pvt. Ltd. and AB Exports Pvt. Ltd. The court has scheduled the hearing for January 16.
Amit Katyal, allegedly a close associate of the Yadav family, was arrested by the ED in November last year. Lalu Prasad Yadav, the RJD chief, has been summoned but is yet to depose, while his son Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar’s deputy CM, has appeared before the agency and is required to do so again.
The railways land-for-jobs scam dates back to Lalu Yadav’s tenure as the railway minister in the UPA-1 government (2004-2009). It is alleged that individuals were appointed to Group “D” positions in the Indian Railways in exchange for transferring their land to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family and the company AK Infosystems Pvt. Ltd.
The ED claims that Amit Katyal was a director of AK Infosystems, while AB Exports Pvt. Ltd., a company allegedly owned by Tejashwi Yadav and Chanda Yadav, is considered a “shell” or fake company. Rabri Devi and Hema Yadav are accused of illegally selling land parcels acquired from appointees in the Railways to Meridian Construction India Ltd. The proceeds of these sales were then transferred through complex transactions to AB Exports Pvt Ltd and Bhagirathi Tubes, as per the ED.
The ED alleges that Rabri Devi and Hema Yadav gained significant profits by selling the land parcels for Rs 3.5 crore, against an acquisition cost of Rs 7.5 lakh. The chargesheet requests the court to prosecute the accused for money laundering and seeks the confiscation of assets previously attached by the ED.
This money laundering case originated from a complaint filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which had previously submitted a charge sheet in the matter. Last year, assets worth over Rs 6 crore belonging to Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti, and associated companies were attached as part of the investigation.
