Bihar ex-cm Rabri quizzed by ED for 7 hrs
RJD CHIEF’S WIFE HAD IGNORED SIX SUMMONS FROM AGENCY
PATNA: Former chief minister Rabri Devi, responding at last to repeated summonses for questioning in an alleged land for railway hotels corruption case, was quizzed for more than seven hours by a seven-member team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), including women officers, here on Saturday.
Four ED officials from Delhi had specially come to Patna for this. The quizzing, which began at 11.45 am ended at 7 pm. Rabri, wife of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, had ignored summonses from the ED at least six times.
A visibly tired former chief minister left the ED’S zonal office soon after the interrogation ended, turning down media’s request for an interaction.
According to sources, around 55 questions were asked and she refused to answer many questions on the ground that they were ‘wrong questions’. The ED asked her to take time and then reply. Earlier in the morning, Rabri, accompanied by her eldest daughter Misa Bharti and her husband, reached the ED’S zonal office after the agency heeded to her request for the questioning to be done in Patna instead of Delhi. The case has been registered in the national capital.
The investigation is connected to a decision taken by Lalu, who is accused of having abused his position as railway minister in 2004 to illegitimately hand over the maintenance of two railway hotels to a private company after allegedly receiving a prime piece of land as bribe.
Most of Lalu’s family — who wield influence in Bihar — are named as suspects in the case. Prasad and his son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, a former deputy chief minister, have already been questioned by the ED, which is probing the money laundering aspect of the case. The corruption charges are being investigated by the CBI. It was this case that led to a split between Lalu Prasad and his foe-turned-friend-turned-foe Nitish Kumar, who decided to break the so-called Grand Alliance coalition and realign with the BJP in July this year, within weeks of the investigation being opened. The ED is investigating the alleged “proceeds of crime” generated by the accused, purportedly through shell companies, according to officials.
Others named in the CBI FIR include Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar (both directors of Sujata Hotels), Delight Marketing company, now known as Lara Projects, and the then IRCTC managing director P K Goel.
Lalu’s family has denied the allegations. Reacting to ED’S quizzing of Rabri Devi, RJD chief Lalu Prasad attacked the central government and the BJP for targeting their family. “How does Sushil Kumar Modi (Bihar deputy CM) know that the chargesheet will be filed soon?” asked Prasad. “It’s the ED’S duty to quiz and we are not afraid of it,” he said.