Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti Named In ED Chargesheet In Land-For-Jobs Scam

Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and her MP daughter Misa Bharti are among those who have been named in the Enforcement Directorate chargesheet in the alleged land-for-jobs scam.

ED on Tuesday filed its first chargesheet in the money laundering case linked to the railways land-for-jobs scam.     

An alleged "close associate" of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's family Amit Katyal, some other individuals and companies have been named in the prosecution complaint (charge sheet), news agency PTI quoted sources as saying.

Katyal was arrested in this case by the ED in November last year while Lalu Prasad Yadav -- former Bihar CM, Union Railway minister and Rabri Devi's husband -- and his son and Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav were summoned by the agency but they have not yet deposed.

The chargesheet has been filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi and the court has listed the matter to be heard on January 16, the sources said.

The alleged scam pertains to the period when Prasad was the railway minister in the Congress-led UPA-1 government. It is alleged that from 2004 to 2009, several people were appointed to Group "D" positions in various zones of the Indian Railways and in lieu, these people transferred their land to the family members of the then railway minister Prasad and a linked company named A K Infosystems Private Limited.

The money laundering case, filed under the criminal sections of the PMLA, stems from a complaint lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).  

The CBI has already filed a chargesheet in this case earlier, in which it named Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav as the "ultimate beneficiaries" in the land-for-jobs scandal.

(with PTI inputs)