Delhi court frames charges against Lalu, Rabri and Tejashwi in IRCTC case

New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) Less than a month before assembly polls in Bihar, a Delhi court on Monday framed charges against RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar CM Rabri Devi and their son and leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav in the alleged IRCTC scam case.

The two-phase assembly elections in Bihar will be held on November 6 and 11. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), headed by Lalu Prasad Yadav, is one of the major political parties in the state.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne said there was a “prima facie” case against the accused and “grave suspicion” regarding the land transfers.

Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, the former CMs, and Tejashwi Yadav, the former deputy chief minister and leader of opposition in the Bihar legislative assembly, pleaded “not guilty” and claimed trial after the charges were read over to them by the judge.

The trial is likely to commence in the last week of October. The issue which may be used by their political opponents in the upcoming poll campaign.

The special judge framed common charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating against Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav in the case, which stems from alleged irregularities in the grant of operational contracts of two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels to a private firm.

The court also framed charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Lalu Prasad.

The judge read out the operative portion of the order and said that land parcels were given at undervalued rates causing a loss to the public exchequer.

A detailed order in the case is awaited.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the leaders, said, “We will challenge the order on charge before the high court as soon as we get the copy of the order." Earlier on September 24, the court had directed all accused persons to appear physically for its order on framing charges.

According to the CBI chargesheet, a conspiracy was allegedly hatched between 2004 and 2014 in pursuance of which BNR hotels of the Indian Railways, located in Puri and Ranchi, were first transferred to IRCTC and later, for its operations, maintenance and upkeep, given on lease to Sujata Hotels Private Limited, which is based in Patna, Bihar.

The tender process, the agency alleged, was rigged and manipulated and the conditions were tweaked to help Sujata Hotels, a private entity.

The chargesheet also names the group general managers of IRCTC V K Asthana and R K Goyal, as well as Vijay Kochhar and Vinay Kochhar, both directors of Sujata Hotels and owners of Chanakya Hotel.

Delight Marketing Company, now known as Lara Projects, and Sujata Hotels Private Limited have also been named as accused firms in the chargesheet. PTI MNR SJK SJK SKY SKY