The land-for-jobs scam in Bihar could be worth 100 crore rupees, as per estimates of CBI officials. The agency in its ongoing investigations has found close to 250 land deeds and unaccounted cash during raids carried out from May to August this year. These land deeds were reportedly of job aspirants who sold or gifted their land to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family or their associates allegedly to get jobs in the Railways when he was the minister.
“The CBI has verified 16 land deeds and found direct linkage between the FIR named accused and the job aspirants. 250 more such deeds are under scrutiny,” an officer aware of the investigation told News18.
The agency has booked the then railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family in the case. The FIR alleges that people were given jobs as substitutes and in group D in lieu of land. “Most of the job aspirants in this scam were from districts that Lalu Yadav had represented as a lawmaker like Chhapra, Patna, Gopalganj, Darbhanga, and Siwan. If the aspirant could not pay in terms of land then the going rate was Rs 7 lakh in cash per job,” a source said. He added that if a family wanted two of their children to get jobs, then two land parcels or 14 lakh rupees were demanded.
‘Corruption racket run like a corporate setup’
The CBI in its investigation has learnt that the entire racket was run like a professional corporate setup. Officials said that trained individuals with a call centre-like setup would run the specialised cell established for this purpose.
“A specialised cell was set up at the residence of the then railway minister, manned by trained personnel who would run the racket like a turnkey project,” an official said.
The modus operandi, he said, was to help the aspirant acquire the required educational qualification, interview training, and all other help once the bribe was paid. Investigators have found fake school certificates during their searches. Officials said that while some schools were on board to provide fake class 10 or class 12 certificates for aspirants, some other schools have said they were unaware that their names were being used.
Land grab
Officials said that between 2004 and 2009, several land parcels in and around Patna were sold at reduced prices to the Yadav family or their associates. While the agency has in some cases found direct evidence where land was transferred to the Yadav family, in some other cases names of their close associates have come up.
“The modus operandi was to get the land in the name of people associated with the scam. Lands were later transferred to those named in the FIR. In one instance as late as 2014, the land of a job aspirant sold to an associate of the accused was transferred to the FIR-named suspect,” a source said.
Officials say evidence has also come up to show that if the accused liked a land next to the one that was being sold or gifted to them, then that land would also be grabbed. “Sometimes the aspirants were forced to convince the owner of the neighbouring plot to give away his land too. In other instances muscle power was used,” a source said.
The CBI believes these land parcels were being put together to build a mall in Patna. Allegations have been made that a change in government in Bihar stalled the efforts of this mall construction and the plan was then shifted to Gurugram in Haryana. The agency on Monday raided the under-construction Urban Cubes mall in sector 71 of Gurugram. CBI officials said that the mall is suspected to be built using proceeds from the land-for-jobs case.
The agency is examining close to 1,000 individuals who allegedly got jobs in the Railways in a fraudulent manner. Officials said that since the FIR was registered, the CBI has received multiple leads from various channels about people who may have paid bribes for jobs in the Railways. Scrutiny of these allegations could lead to more evidence in the case, they added.
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