Lalu's daughter Misa Bharti questioned by ED for over 6 hrs in land-for-jobs money laundering case

The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader left the ED office for lunch for over an hour in the afternoon during she which told reporters that the proceedings were "confidential" and hence she would not want to comment.

New Delhi: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's MP daughter Misa Bharti was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for over six hours on Saturday in a money laundering case linked to the alleged land-for-jobs scam in the railways, officials said. Bharti, 46, went into the federal agency's office in central Delhi around 11 am and exited around 7 pm. The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader left the ED office for lunch for over an hour in the afternoon during she which told reporters that the proceedings were "confidential" and hence she would not want to comment.

It is understood that the Rajya Sabha member's statement was recorded by the investigating officer under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Bharti's brother and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav also deposed for questioning before the CBI in Delhi on Saturday in the same case. On March 16, Yadav agreed to appear before CBI after the probe agency assured the Delhi High Court it will not arrest him this month.

Both the central agencies initiated action in the case recently, with the CBI questioning Lalu Prasad and his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, and the ED carrying out raids against the RJD chief's family. The Enforcement Directorate, after the searches, said it seized "unaccounted cash" amounting to Rs 1 crore and detected proceeds of crime worth Rs 600 crore.

It said the investigation was intended to unearth more investments made on behalf of Prasad's family members and their associates in various sectors, including real estate, at several places. The alleged land-for-jobs scam pertains to the period when Prasad was the railway minister in the UPA-1 government between 2004 and 2009.

The CBI has alleged that several people appointed to Group D positions in the railways in that period allegedly "sold" their land to the family members of Prasad and A K Infosystems Pvt Ltd, a beneficiary company in this case, at highly discounter rates, up to one-fifth of the prevailing market rates, in return for the jobs.

The agency has also alleged that no advertisement or public notice was issued for recruitment but some residents of Patna were appointed as substitutes in zonal railways in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hazipur. Tejashwi Yadav, after the questioning of his parents by the CBI, had told reporters that then Railway Minister Prasad had "no powers" to give employment in exchange for favours. (PTI)