Court frames charges against Lalu, Rabri and Tejashwi in IRCTC land-for-hotels scam case

In a major development weeks before the Bihar Assembly elections, a Delhi court on Monday framed charges against former Railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, and their son Tejashwi Yadav in connection with the alleged IRCTC land-for-hotels scam.

- NARESH BISWANI

The court described Lalu Prasad as the “fountainhead of criminal conspiracy” in the case.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne, in a detailed 244-page order, held that there was sufficient evidence to proceed to trial against the Yadav family and 11 others for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and abuse of official position under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court said that the trial would proceed on a day-to-day basis from October 27.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the alleged scam dates back to Lalu Prasad’s tenure as the Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009. The agency has accused him of conspiring with businessmen Vijay and Vinay Kochhar—directors of M/s Sujata Hotel Pvt Ltd, which owned Hotel Chanakya in Patna—to grant them contracts for the subleasing of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels at Ranchi and Puri. In return, the Kochhars allegedly transferred prime land in Patna to a company linked to Lalu’s associate Prem Chand Gupta, which was later taken over by Lalu’s family members at a nominal price.