Lalu usurped Tata Co's land, alleges Sushil Modi

Patna: There is fresh trouble brewing for RJD chief Lalu Yadav as senior BJP leader and Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi is preparing to dig out more skeletons from the cupboard of the Yadav family.

There is a buzz that Mr Modi has gained access to some documents which may create trouble for Lalu Yadav who is already serving a jail term in connection with  cases related to the fodder scam.

While alleging that Lalu amassed illegal wealth when his party was in power, Mr Modi said that he also illegally took possession of properties which belonged to the companies like Tata.

“Just one round of revelations about the illegal wealth possessed by the family has been completed. Lalu didn’t even spare companies like Tata and took possession of its properties when his party was in power in Bihar,” the deputy chief minister said.

The first round of revelations had resulted in serious action against Lalu Yadav and his family. Sources say that it was after Mr Modi’s salvo on the benami property of Lalu Yadav that the investigating agencies like the CBI, ED and income-tax began probe.

Political analysts feel that another round of revelations might result in some fresh case against Lalu and his wife Rabri Devi. However, Lalu Yadav’s son Tejashwi Yadav feels that the action against his family is part of BJP’s political conspiracy.

The RJD leaders had launched another round of attacks on the BJP after the CBI interrogated Rabri Devi for almost four hours in connection with a railway tender scam on Tuesday.

Tejashwi Yadav had earlier said, “The BJP has been using investigating agencies to harass my family. The CBI has not been able to file a chargesheet against me.”

The IRCTC scam involving the RJD chief, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi had surfaced in April 2017 when documents produced by Mr Modi revealed that he took possession of land in Patna in lieu of awarding the hotel tender to private companies.

The ED had registered a case against the family on July 27 last year following an FIR and multiple searches by the CBI on Lalu’s property in New Delhi and Patna.

Cases lodged against Tejashwi Yadav had led to the collapse of the grand secular alliance comprising JD(U), RJD and Congress in last year after which Nitish Kumar formed a new government with the BJP’s help.

It was allegaed that a large patch of land in Patna was transferred by hotelier Harsh Kocher as a favour to Lalu Yadav for helping him acquire two railway hotels — in Puri and Ranchi.

It has been alleged in the complaint that the Mr Kochar and his brother were given the tender in lieu of prime land of 3 acres in Patna through a benami company, Delight Marketing Pvt Ltd.

The allegation against Rabri Devi is that the ownership of Delight Marketing, which initially belonged to Sarla Gupta, wife of RJD leader Prem Chand Gupta, was transferred in her name after the Kochar brothers got the tender.

According to Mr Modi, 85 per cent shares of Delight Marketing were transferred in the name of Rabri Devi and another 15 per cent given to Tejashwi Yadav.

“Everybody wants to know how they gathered so much of property,” the deputy chief minister said.

Earlier, Mr Modi had said that a company named AB Exports was used only for acquiring benami propertyfor Lalu Yadav and family.