CBI raids Lalu’s premises; family booked in land case

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Jul 8 2017, DH News: More trouble brewed for RJD chief Lalu Prasad with the CBI on Friday booking him, wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav, the deputy chief minister of Bihar, for “irregularities” in handing over two hotels when he was the railway minister.

The registration of the case, which was done on Wednesday, came to light as CBI investigators conducted searches in 12 locations in Patna, Delhi, Ranchi, Puri and Gurugram.

According to the CBI, Lalu conspired with others to grant Sujata Hotel Pvt Ltd the control of BNR hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006 by circumventing procedures and for a consideration of a three-acre prime plot in Patna, which could now fetch Rs 94 crore.

The plot was first given to a firm in which his close aide Prem Chand Gupta’s wife Sarla is a director and later transferred to Prasad’s family.

“The allegation is that the tender process was manipulated. In return, the three-acre land in western Patna was given to Delight Marketing (in which Sarla is director), at a very low cost, and between 2010 and 2014, this land was transferred to Lara Projects, owned by Prasad’s family,” CBI Additional Director Rakesh Asthana told reporters.

Besides Prasad, Rabri and Tejashwi, those who have been charged with conspiracy, cheating and corruption include Sarla, former IRCTC managing director P K Goel, SHPL directors Vijay and Vinay Kochhar, and LARA Projects LLP.

According to the CBI FIR, the Kochhars sold the Patna plot to Delight Marketing Pvt Ltd (DMCL) for Rs 1.47 crore. The payment was "arranged surreptitiously" in the form of investment in shares.

"On the day when the sale deeds were executed by the Kochhars in favour of DMCL on February 25, 2005, the Railway Board on the same day informed IRCTC about its decision for transfer of BNR hotels to IRCTC on "as is where is basis", the FIR said.

Prasad then "colluded" with Goel to hand over the two hotels to Kochhars "through a rigged and manipulated tender process".

The accused wanted to "restrict" competition for BNR hotels in Ranchi and Puri and they "modified" the eligibility criteria through a "misleading" corrigendum to a bid document.

Of the 15 bidders for Ranchi hotel, IRCTC has details of only Sujata Hotels and Dinanath Hotels Pvt Ltd. Even the bid documents submitted by Dinanath Hotels are not available now.

Deliberate ploy

On Puri hotel, M/s Hotel Kesari’s bid was “deliberately and unreasonably” given low marks in technical evaluation so that it did not qualify for the opening of financial bid.

"As a result, Sujata Hotel remained the only bidder in the financial evaluation and was qualified," the FIR stated. After Prasad demitted office, DMCL transferred the shares of the company to Rabri and Tejashwi between 2010 and 2014.

“The shares of a company having a net worth of Rs 32.5 crore was transferred by the family member of P C Gupta to the family members of Lalu Prasad for a nominal amount of Rs 64 lakh,” the FIR said.