A special court in Delhi has formally framed charges of corruption, criminal conspiracy, and cheating against former Union Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, and their son Tejashwi Yadav in the long-running IRCTC hotels scam case. The move paves the way for a full trial after all three pleaded not guilty.
Appearing physically before Special Judge Vishal Gogne on Monday, the Yadav family denied all allegations leveled against them by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Following their plea, the judge officially set the case for trial. The family’s court appearance came after a directive issued last month for all accused to be present in person.
The case revolves around alleged corruption in the leasing of two Indian Railways-owned BNR hotels, located in Puri and Ranchi, to a private firm, Sujata Hotels, during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure as the Union Minister for Railways.
According to the CBI’s chargesheet, a criminal conspiracy was orchestrated between 2004 and 2014. The agency claims the tender process for the operations and maintenance of the hotels was deliberately manipulated to benefit the Patna-based Sujata Hotels. Investigators allege that the conditions of the tender were improperly tweaked to ensure the contract was awarded to them.
The investigation also implicated several other individuals and entities. The CBI has also named V.K. Asthana and R.K. Goyal, who were then Group General Managers of IRCTC, as well as Vijay Kochhar and Vinay Kochhar, the directors of Sujata Hotels. The chargesheet lists Delight Marketing Company (now known as Lara Projects) and Sujata Hotels Pvt. Ltd. as accused firms in the alleged conspiracy.
