NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Thursday ordered the framing of charges against former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and six others in an alleged money laundering case stemming from alleged irregularities in the allotment of two IRCTC hotels.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne ordered the framing of charges against the accused, saying there was a "strong suspicion" against them for the offence of money laundering. The judge rejected arguments made by the accused that the nature, timing and course of the investigation appeared to be inspired by political vendetta.
The court also discharged seven accused in the case.
Notably, the court had also framed charges of corruption against the RJD patriarch and 11 others last October in the IRCTC case lodged by the CBI.
According to the CBI, Lalu, during his tenure as railway minister in UPA-I, handed over the maintenance of two IRCTC hotels to a company in 2004 after receiving a bribe in the form of prime land in Patna through a 'benami' company owned by Sarla Gupta, wife of Prem Chand Gupta, who was also a former Union minister.
Based on the CBI FIR, the ED lodged a separate case against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his family members and others under the PMLA to probe the alleged laundering of the proceeds generated from the crime.
The ED alleged that the accused laundered the “proceeds of crime” through shell companies.
The CBI had also named Vijay Kochhar and Vinay Kochhar, both directors of Sujata Hotels, along with Delight Marketing, now known as Lara Projects, and then IRCTC managing director P K Goel as accused in its FIR lodged on July 5, 2018.
The case relates to allegations of extending favours to Sujata Hotels in awarding a contract for the upkeep of hotels in Ranchi and Puri and receiving premium land as "quid pro quo".
