Bihar:Rabri Devi ‘owns’ 18 flats worth Rs 20 crore in Patna, says BJP’s Sushil Modi
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday made fresh allegations against RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s family saying his wife Rabri Devi, a former Bihar chief minister, “owns” 18 flats in Patna worth around Rs 20 crore.
The allegations come on a day the income tax department charged family members of Lalu, including his wife, son and daughters, under the Benami Transactions Act in connection with its probe into land deals worth Rs 1,000 crore and tax evasion.
Modi, Bihar’s deputy chief minister between 2005 and 2013 when the NDA was in power in the state, said he would submit by July 15 documents related to the properties held by Lalu, Rabri Devi and other family members to investigating agencies, including the income-tax department.
Modi, who has repeatedly attacked Lalu and his family for purportedly owning benami properties, said all the flats were “procured through unexplained sources”.
He said he did not have faith in Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who has so far not acted against Lalu or his family. “I have no other alternative but to approach the agencies to bring the matter to its logical end,” said Modi.
Lalu’s RJD is a part of the Grand Alliance coalition government in Bihar along with Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and the Congress. His son, Tejashwi, is the state’s deputy chief minister.
Speaking on the sidelines of his Janata Durbar in Patna, Modi said the 18 flats owned by Rabri Devi were housed in two complexes located in Patna — one plot of 20.074 decimal land is located in Danapur, the other plot of 15.4155 decimal of land is located at Sheikhpura.
At the Danapur plot, which is a residential-cum-commercial complex, Rabri Devi has 10 flats, while in Sheikhpura she owns eight, said Modi.
He said the plots were registered in Rabri Devi’s name when she was the chief minister (1997-2005) and when Lalu was the railways minister (2004- 09).
The apartments in Danapur were built by Shreya constructions, said Modi, and christened Maa Marichhiya Devi Complex after Lalu’s late mother and with engravings of lanterns, the RJD poll symbol.
He alleged that Rabri Devi got registered the two separate pieces of land from three persons who were either given jobs or contracts in the Indian Railways or were benefited in some other way when Lalu Prasad was the railway minister.
“Rabri Devi got one of the plots from the family members of one late Arvind Kumar Yadav,” said Modi, adding that a cheque drawn on Awami Co-operative Bank was given to Yadav’s family but it was never encashed.
In February 2011, said Modi, Rabri Devi entered into an agreement with the proprietor of M/s Shreya Constructions, Amrendra Kumar Sinha, to develop the two plots measuring 37,405 sq ft on which 36 flats were to be constructed. As per the agreement, Rabri Devi got 50% as her share — 18 flats along with parking space.
The former deputy chief minister had earlier claimed to have unearthed documents relating to a Rs 600-crore mall coming up in Phulwari-Danapur areas, besides land given in gifts to members of Lalu’s family by former Union ministers Raghunath Jha and Kanti Singh and Lallan.
Modi had also sought to expose the family on acquiring up to five plots from the MLA’s cooperative, when no more than one flat could be procured by a legislator, as per the norms of association. He also sought to expose Lalu’s and his eldest daughter Misa’s properties in New Delhi, which is now under investigation by the IT.
