CBI summons Lalu, Tejashwi in Railway hotel leasing

The CBI on Thursday summoned RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav to appear before it for questioning on September 11 and 12 regarding alleged irregularites in issuing contract for two IRCTC hotels in 2006 to a private company.

The two were directed to report at the Central Bureau of Investigation headquarters in New Delhi for questioning.

The CBI had in July filed a corruption case against Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and Tejashwi for alleged irregularities when the Rashtriya Janata Dal President was the Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009.

The contracts for two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels at Ranchi in Jharkhand and Puri in Odisha were handed over to Sujata Hotels company owned by Vijay and Vinay Kochhar in lieu of a bribe in the form of a plot of prime land in Patna in Bihar, reports IANS.

According to the CBI, Lalu Prasad allegedly granted illegal favours to Sujata Hotels through the IRCTC, and the tender process for the development, maintenance, and operation of the two hotels was manipulated in exchange for the three-acre plot in Patna where a mall is coming up.

The CBI, which registered the case on July 5 under Sections 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 13 and 13(1)B of the Prevention of Corruption Act, claimed that the kickbacks were paid through a 'benami' company owned by Sarala Gupta, wife of RJD MP Prem Chand Gupta.