CBI summons Lalu, son Tejashwi in hotels-for-land scam

CBI has summoned RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi for questioning early next week in connection with a probe into "irregularities" in handing over two hotels when he was Railway Minister.

Prasad has been asked to appear before investigators at CBI headquarters in the national capital on Monday while Tejashwi, former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister, the next day.

The registration of the case by CBI on July 7 led to a series of political developments in Bihar and at the national level as JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar came out of the Grand Alliance in which RJD and Congress were partners. Kumar then joined hands with BJP to form a government.

According to the CBI, Prasad allegedly conspired with others to grant Sujata Hotel Pvt Ltd (SHPL) 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 around Rs 94 crore.

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

Besides Prasad and Tejashwi, the FIR has named Sarla and former IRCTC Managing Director P K Goel, SHPL Directors Vijay and Vinay Kochhar and LARA Projects LLP. Prasad has refuted allegations of any wrongdoing in the transfer of hotels.

The CBI FIR claimed the Kochhars sold the Patna plot to Delight Marketing Pvt Ltd (DMCL) in which Sarla is a Director for Rs 1.47 crore and this payment was "arranged surreptitiously" in the form of investment in shares.

After Prasad demitted office, DMCL transferred the shares of the company to Rabri Devi 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 PC Gupta to the family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav for a nominal amount of Rs 64 lakh," the FIR said.