IRCTC scam: ED conducts raids on several locations
What's the story
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) reportedly raided several locations on Friday concerning the alleged Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) scam. Raids are also underway at Lalu Prasad Yadav's aide and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Syed Abu Dojana's Patna residence. Besides Bihar, ED raids are also ongoing in Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, and at properties linked to Yadav and his family members.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Details
ED raids Syed Abu Dojana, Rohini Acharya's residents
According to ANI, the law enforcement and economic intelligence agencies also conducted raids at the residence of Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya in Delhi and at the premises of former RJD MLA Dojana at Patna's Phulwari Sharif. To recall, nine opposition leaders, including Bihar's Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, wrote a letter to Narendra Modi, claiming misuse of central investigation agencies.
Know more
Earlier, CBI questioned Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi in scam case
This week on Tuesday, a team of six CBI officials questioned former railway minister Yadav at the premises of his daughter Misa Bharti in Delhi in relation to the alleged land-for-jobs scam case. On Monday, former Bihar CM Devi was also interrogated by the CBI in the same case for nearly four hours.
More details
Acharya alleged Yadav being harassed by central probe agencies
On Tuesday, Yadav's daughter claimed that his father was being harassed by the probe agencies continuously. "Papa is constantly being harassed. I will not spare anyone if anything happens to him. You are troubling my father, it is not right. All this will be remembered. Time is mighty, it has great power. This has to be remembered," Acharya wrote on Twitter after CBI's questioning.
Further information
CBI chargesheet accuses Yadav of misusing ministerial powers
As per the CBI chargesheet from October last year, the probe agency alleged that the accused—in conspiracy with the then chief personnel officer and general manager of Central Railway—hired specific people as substitutes in return for land in their or their relatives' names. The reported scam happened between 2004 and 2009, while Yadav served as the Union railways minister.
Further details
Know about Syed Abu Dojana's alleged connection in case
In 2018, the ED seized an under-construction mall in Patna that Yadav and his family were reportedly constructing. Meridian Construction India Limited, a company owned by Dojana, undertook the construction work of the mall. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that the mall was being constructed on benami property obtained without government permission by the RJD chief and his family.