Ahead of the Bihar elections in November, trouble lingers over the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and son Tejaswi Yadav. The three have been charged with various criminal charges in the alleged IRCTC Hotel Scam case by a Delhi Court on Monday.
The order was passed by Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts.
Lalu Yadav has been accused of corruption, criminal conspiracy, and cheating. Several offenses, including conspiracy and cheating, have been framed against Rabri Devi and Tejaswi Yadav.
Following the charges, Lalu Yadav and the other accused pleaded not guilty, seeking a trial in the case. The case will now proceed to trial.
IRCTC Hotel Scam caseLalu Yadav, while serving as the Railway Minister, allegedly accepted prime land as a bribe and gave contracts to a private firm, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
As per the allegations against him, while Yadav headed the Railways between 2004 and 2009, two IRCTC hotels in Puri and Ranchi were given on lease to Sujata Hotels via a manipulated tender process. In return for this, land valued in crores was transferred in the name of a company allegedly linked to Lalu's wife and son.
Lalu and his family have questioned the investigation against them, calling it a "politically motivated" act, and there is no evidence against them.
A case has been registered by the CBI against the three and Sarla Gupta, the wife of former Union Minister Prem Chand Gupta. Other accused in the FIR are Vijay Kochhar and Vinay Kochhar, who are the directors of Sujata Hotels and owners of Chanakya Hotel, Delight Marketing Company (Lara Projects), and the company's then Managing Director, PK Goel.