‘Land for jobs scam’: Rabri Devi and Misha Bharti asked to be present before the PMLA court

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) said in a release that Amit Katyal, Rabri Devi, Misha Bharti, Hema Yadav, and Hridyanand Chaudhary were served with notices by a PMLA court to appear on February 9, 2024, for a subsequent trial in the alleged “land for job scam.” In the alleged scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a prosecution complaint (PC) on January 1, 2024, before the Special Court (PMLA), New Delhi, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against Amit Katyal, Rabri Devi, Misha Bharti, Hema Yadav, Hridyanand Chaudhary, and two companies: A K Infosystems Private Limited, A B Exports Pvt. Ltd.

It is widely reported that Amit Katyal, a businessman, has ties to former Bihar chief minister and RJD patriarch Lalu Yadav’s family members.
The central agency initiated investigations based on an FIR registered by CBI related to land for job scam alleging that Lalu Yadav, the then Railway Minister, indulged in corruption for the appointment of Group D substitutes in Indian Railways during the period 2004-2009.

According to the FIR, the candidates were instructed to transfer land as payment for employment with Indian Railways. A charge sheet has also been filed by the CBI. The ED claimed that Lalu’s relatives, Rabr Devi, Misha Bharti, and Hema Yadav, who are named in the prosecution’s complaint, obtained land parcel(s) for nominal sums from the families of candidates who were chosen to replace Group D employees in the Indian Railways. Another accused in the prosecution’s complaint is Hridyanand Chaudhary, a former employee of Rabri Devi’s gaushala who bought a piece of property from one of the candidates and gave it to Hema Yadav.

The companies–A K Infosystems Private Limited, A B Exports Pvt. Ltd–were shell companies that received proceeds of crime for family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The ED said that the immovable properties were acquired in the said companies by front men and thereafter shares were transferred to family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav for nominal amounts. Amit Katyal used to manage these companies for Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family.