What is the Bihar land-for-job scam?

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a second charge-sheet on Monday (July 3) in the land-for-job scam case involving Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family members.

While the first charge-sheet, filed in October 2022, implicated Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi, the second charge-sheet also includes the name of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.

The CBI has filed charges against the accused under several IPC Sections, including criminal conspiracy and cheating, along with the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

What is the case?

The scam dates back nearly a decade and revolves around allegations of corruption and bribery between 2004 and 2009, when Lalu Prasad Yadav served as the Railway Minister of India. It involves the transfer of land plots to Lalu Prasad Yadav's family members in exchange for Group D job appointments within the railways.

The CBI initiated a preliminary investigation in September 2021, which later led to the filing of an FIR. According to the CBI, Lalu Yadav exploited his position to transfer land properties into the names of his family members.

The CBI also highlighted that Rabri Devi, Lalu Prasad Yadav's wife, and her daughter purchased lands in 2008 at significantly lower prices from certain individuals. Allegedly, these individuals' family members, who were involved in the land transfers, were subsequently appointed to positions within the railways within a three-month timeframe.

The CBI identified 12 undeserving candidates who were appointed to positions within the railways when Yadav served as the Railway Minister.

Furthermore, the investigation revealed at least seven instances where jobs were granted to candidates whose family members had transferred lands to Lalu Prasad Yadav's family.

Here are those six oout of those seven deals: 

Deal 1: In 2008, Patna resident Kishan Diu Rai transferred 3,3375 sq feet of land to Rabri Devi for Rs 3.75 lakh. Subsequently, three individuals from Rai's family, Raj Kumar, Mithilesh Kumar, and Ajay Kumar, were appointed as substitutes in the Group D and posted in the Central Railway in 2008.

Deal 2: Sanjay Rai, a resident of Patna's Mahuabagh, sold 3,375 sq feet of land to Rabri Devi for Rs 3.75 lakh. The CBI found that Rai, along with two other family members, was given jobs in the railways.

Deal 3: Patna resident Kiran Devi transferred 80,905 square feet of land to Lalu's daughter Misha Bharti in 2007 for Rs 3.70 lakh. Later, her son Abhishek Kumar was appointed as a substitute in the Indian railways in Mumbai in 2008.

Deal 4: In November 2007, Patna resident Hazari Rai sold 9,527 square feet of land to AK Infosystem Private Limited, a Delhi-based company, for Rs 10.83 lakh. The CBI discovered that two nephews of Rai, Dilchand Kumar and Prem Chand Kumar, were appointed as substitutes in the Western Central Railway in Jabalpur and the South Eastern Railway in Kolkata in 2006.

According to an India Today report, during the investigation, the CBI found that the rights and assets of AK System were sold to Rabri Devi and Misha Bharti in 2014.

Deal 5: In March 2008, Gopalganj resident Brij Nandan Rai transferred 3,375 square feet of land to Hridyanand Chowdhury for Rs 4.21 lakh. The CBI later discovered that Hridyanand was appointed as a substitute at the East Central Railways in Hazaribagh in 2005.

Later, Hridyanand Rai, through a gift deed, transferred the land to Lalu Yadav's daughter Hema Devi in 2014. The CBI also noted that Hridyanand was not a relative of Hema Yadav and that the land's price, at the time of transfer, was Rs 62 lakh.

Deal 6: In 2008, Vishnu Dev Rai transferred 3,375 square feet of land to Lalan Choudhary. The CBI discovered that Lalan's grandson Pintu Kumar was appointed as a substitute in the Western Railway in Mumbai in 2008.

The CBI FIR

The CBI's FIR states that family members of Lalu Yadav acquired approximately 1,05,292 sq feet of land. Interestingly, cash payments were shown for most of the land transfers.

According to the CBI, the current value of the land acquired through gift deeds is approximately Rs 4.39 crore.

What's next?

Regarding the future developments, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav has labeled it as vendetta politics by the central government, while critics accuse the Yadav family of long-standing involvement in corruption.

As the general elections of 2024 eapproach, the CBI may intensify its investigation and scrutiny of the Yadav family's actions.