IRCTC scam: Delhi court grants interim bail to Lalu Prasad Yadav

A Delhi court on Thursday granted interim bail till January 19 to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) scam cases filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

A Delhi court’s special judge Arun Bharadwaj granted interim bail to Lalu Prasad Yadav after he was produced before the court via video conference from a Ranchi jail. Notably, Lalu Prasad Yadav is currently serving as a prisoner in Ranchi jail in connection with fodder scam case.

During the hearing, the court directed both CBI and ED to file their replies to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s application seeking regular bail in both the cases.

It is to be noted that the cases relate to alleged irregularities in granting operational contract of two IRCTC (Railways) hotels to a private firm.

The CBI filed a charge sheet against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, former Union minister Prem Chand Gupta and his wife Sarla Gupta. The then managing director of IRCTC PK Goyal and then IRCTC director Rakesh Saxena were also named in the charge sheet.

The other important names in the charge sheet include the then group general managers of IRCTC V K Asthana and R K Goyal, and Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar, both directors of Sujata Hotels and owners of Chanakya Hotel. The ED had filed a case based on the FIR of CBI.

Importantly, Lalu Yadav’s wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav are already on bail in the CBI case. They are also on interim bail in the case filed by the Enforcement Directorate, which was extended till January 19, the next date of hearing.

Also Read: IRCTC scam: Delhi court grants bail to Tejashwi Yadav, Rabri Devi