Explained: What is the multi-crore 'land-for-jobs' scam that Lalu Yadav and his family are accused of

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently investigating a multi-crore scam involving the exchange of land for jobs in the Indian Railways, with former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Yadav and his family members at the Centre. With a lot of noise in the news, here's what you need to know about the "land-for-jobs" scam.

Just a day after the Rouse Avenue court in Delhi granted bail to former Bihar Chief Ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi along with their daughter Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Misa Bharti, their son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav was granted relief in the Delhi High Court as well.

Tejashwi will be appearing before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the ongoing investigation into the "land-for-jobs" scam on March 25, but will not be arrested this month. His father, mother and sister are among the others accused in the multi-crore scam.

The agency is probing allegations that several people were given Group D jobs in the Indian Railways in exchange for land worth crores in Bihar. Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Railway Minister at the time, along with his family members are accused of accepting bribes in the form of land in exchange for these appointments.

The "land-for-jobs" scam first came to light in 2009 after the new UPA government came to power and Yadav lost his position as Union Railway Minister as his party wasn’t part of the new government. The CBI investigation into the scam was initiated by the new Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee after allegations were made against Yadav. The investigation was restarted in September 2021.

Following a preliminary inquiry, the agency filed an FIR in 2022 against Yadav, his wife and his daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav. The CBI alleged that Yadav and his associates had taken large amounts of land from people who were seeking jobs in the Indian Railways. According to the allegations, the land was given to Yadav's family members and close associates.

The investigation also revealed that many of the appointments made by Yadav's office were based on favouritism and nepotism, and not on merit. The CBI claimed that Yadav had misused his position as the Railway Minister to benefit his family members and associates.

In the FIR, the CBI alleged that between 2004 and 2009, several residents of Patna were appointed as substitutes for various Group-D posts. These posts had no advertisements and the appointments were against norms and procedures for recruitment. These people were given jobs in different zones of the railways located in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hajipur.

The CBI accused the Yadav family of acquiring over 1 lakh sq ft of land through the scam at a cost of just Rs 26 lakh, despite the fair value of the land being over Rs 4.39 crore.

The CBI charged Yadav and his family under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using a forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently conducted searches at 24 locations in Delhi, Patna, Mumbai and Ranchi in relation to the scam. The raids led to the seizure of Rs 1 crore in unaccounted cash, and foreign currency including $1900, 540 grams of gold bullion and more than 1.5 kg of gold jewellery worth Rs 1.25 crore. In total, the raid resulted in Rs 600 crore of assets being seized.

Yadav is no stranger to scams, currently contesting his conviction in the fifth fodder scam worth Rs 139 crore. The 74-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison along with a Rs 60 lakh fine before receiving bail from the Jharkhand High Court. Apart from the numerous fodder scams and the current "land-for-jobs" scam, Yadav was also associated with other scams like the Indian Railways Tender scam and the Disproportionate assets case.

After the agency launched a new FIR in May 2022, Bhola Yadav, the former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) under Yadav was one of the first to be arrested. Bhola was accused of being the executor of the land deals in the case. At the same time, Hridayanand Chaudhary, one of the people who had gotten a job through the scam was also arrested.

Following the arrests, several searches and raids were conducted against Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders in connection with the case. In October 2022, the CBI filed its chargesheet against Yadav and his family among others. On February 27, the Rouse Avenue Court issued a summons to Yadav, Devi and Misa Bharti to appear before the court on March 15. The CBI had earlier arrived at each of the accused’s residences to question them. Tejashwi Yadav had skipped the questioning on March 11 and later petitioned for a stay against the CBI summon.