PATNA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated searches at 19 locations linked to former Bihar minister and senior RJD leader Alok Kumar Mehta in connection with alleged gross irregularities in the disbursement of loans from a private cooperative bank.
Mehta, an RJD MLA from the Ujiarpur assembly constituency in the Samastipur district, is known to be close to RJD chief Lalu Prasad. His name has been speculated for the party’s state president role, as the incumbent, Jagadanand Singh, is expected to step down at the executive committee meeting on 18 January.
The searches are being conducted simultaneously at nine locations in Patna and Hajipur (Bihar), one location in Delhi, five in Kolkata, and four in Uttar Pradesh. The ED officials surrounded Mehta’s MLA flat in the state capital early on Friday morning and commenced the search operation. Mehta was present at his residence when ED officials arrived with a court order.
The investigation pertains to the disbursement of loans worth over Rs 60 crore from Vaishali Urban Development Cooperative Bank. Mehta, who previously served as the bank's chairman-cum-promoter until 2012, has come under scrutiny. Separate ED teams have also reached the offices of a cold storage located in Mahua and Mirzanagar in the Vaishali district as part of the operation.
The loans were allegedly procured using forged documents, and the role of the bank’s chairman, promoter, chief executive officer, and managing director is under investigation. Sanjeev Mehta, a nephew of the former minister and the current chairman of the Vaishali Urban Development Cooperative Bank, said the case has been pending for over a decade.
Three separate FIRs were filed in Vaishali district after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) identified violations of its guidelines in loan disbursement. However, the matter remained largely unnoticed after the RJD assumed power following the 2015 state assembly elections.
The Vaishali Urban Development Bank was founded by Alok Mehta’s father, Tulsi Das Mehta, an influential leader from the backward community, in Hajipur, Vaishali district, around 35 years ago. The RBI granted the bank its operational licence in 1996.
Alok Mehta succeeded his father as chairman in 1995 and held the position until 2012, after which he handed over charge to his father and distanced himself from the bank. In 2015, the RBI uncovered irregularities and subsequently ceased the bank’s operations.
Sources close to the Mehta family revealed that Tulsi Das Mehta was also penalised by the RBI for financial irregularities. Loans were reportedly granted to individuals close to the family based on forged documents.
Reacting to the development, JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar criticised the RJD, claiming its leaders have a history of financial misconduct. “The allegations against RJD leaders for being involved in corrupt practices are not new,” he said. Kumar added, “The act of Mehta has shocked people in general and political workers in particular.”
Last year, the ED conducted searches at three locations, including Patna and Bhojpur, linked to former RJD MLA Arun Yadav and the official residence of his wife, Kiran Devi, an RJD MLA. The raids were part of a money laundering investigation related to illegal sand mining and the land-for-job case.
“The allegations against RJD leaders for financial irregularities only reaffirm their longstanding reputation,” Neeraj Kumar remarked in a video statement, adding that Mehta's misconduct began after his elevation as a minister in the grand alliance government.