Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav appears before CBI for questioning in connection with land-for-jobs 'scam'

Tejashwi Yadav

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) here on Saturday to be interrogated in connection with the alleged land-for-jobs scam, after skipping three previous dates, officials said.

Upon his arrival at the CBI headquarters at around 10:30 am, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader was escorted to the investigation team after the completion of the necessary formalities.

The CBI had given an assurance to the Delhi High Court last week that it would not arrest Yadav this month. According to the RJD leader's counsel, Maninder Singh, Yadav had conveyed to the federal agency that he would require some time to appear before its sleuths as the ongoing Bihar Assembly session is scheduled to conclude on April 5.

Singh had also told the court that Yadav would appear before the investigating officer at the CBI headquarters in Delhi at 10:30 am on March 25.

CBI's counsel DP Singh had told the court that the Assembly is not convened on Saturdays and Yadav could appear before the agency on any Saturday in March according to his convenience. The RJD leader had sought quashing of the summonses dated February 28, March 4 and March 11 issued against him.

On March 15, a special CBI court granted bail to Yadav's father Lalu Prasad, mother Rabri Devi — both former Bihar chief ministers — sister Misa Bharti and others in the land-for-jobs "scam" case.

The CBI's investigation against the Yadav family and others is part of its ongoing probe into documents and evidence that surfaced after the first chargesheet was submitted and also into the alleged roles of the accused that could not be completed by the time the initial report was filed, according to officials.

The officials also said the fresh round of questioning of the accused is taking place as part of the "further investigation" based on fresh inputs gathered during the agency's ongoing probe.

The CBI has alleged that during Lalu Prasad's tenure as the railway minister in the UPA government from 2004 to 2009, favourite candidates were appointed in the railways in violation of norms and procedures, without any advertisement or public notice. The agency has claimed that substitutes from Patna were appointed in various zonal railways located in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hazipur.

As a quid pro quo, the candidates, either directly or through their immediate family members, allegedly sold land to Prasad's family members at highly-discounted rates.