‘Firm that won contract sold land to Lalu’s aide’

A company that won the contract to run railway hotels transferred a parcel of prime land in Patna to a close confidant of Lalu Prasad the same day the railway ministry under him began the leasing of hotels to private firms, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged.

Hindustan Times reviewed the CBI’s internal files that said on August 25, 2005, the Railway Board allowed private companies to run railway hotels, including two in Ranchi and Puri.

The same day Sujata Hotels, which eventually won the contract for the BNR hotels in Puri and Ranchi, sold two acres of land cheaply to Delight Marketing Company controlled by Sarala Gupta, wife of former Union minister of corporate affairs Prem Chand Gupta who is a member of Lalu’s Rashtriya Janata Dal and a close confidant of his, it said.

The CBI files showed that 10 land deeds were executed by Harsh Kochhar and Vijay Kochhar of Sujata Hotels in favour of Delight Marketing Company, which later transferred the plot to family members of Lalu, including his wife Rabri Devi and son and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi for ₹62 lakh.

The CBI said the value of the land was no less than at ₹90 crore at prevailing market price.

Federal agents searched the homes and properties of Lalu and his family on Friday morning as part of investigations into alleged misconduct in giving out contracts for the railway hotels.

The raids were carried out at 12 locations in five cities a day after the CBI filed cases against Lalu, Rabri, and Tejashwi, among others.

A CBI source, citing a noting on a file by the then chairman of the railway board, claimed that Lalu directly monitored the contract procedure and even tweaked eligibility criteria that allowed Sujata Hotels to bid for the two hotels.

“OSD to MR (Minister of Railway, Lalu Yadav) rang up and informed that MR has desired that proposal for budget hotels, including for the one for which advertisement has been given in papers, be withdrawn till the policy in this regard is finalised. Necessary action maybe kindly taken,” said the noting on August 26, 2006.

CBI sources told Hindustan Times that 17 bidding forms were issued but only two, including that of Sujata Hotels, were received.

Hindustan Times could not immediately reach those mentioned in the story as they are currently being investigated by CBI. Their phones remained unreachable.

A CBI SOURCE CLAIMED LALU MONITORED THE CONTRACT PROCEDURE AND EVEN TWEAKED ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA THAT ALLOWE D SUJATA HOTELS TO BID FOR TWO OTHER HOTELS