Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the alleged land-for-jobs scam, official sources said.
She reached the office of the federal investigative agency in central Delhi around 11 am. Rabri Devi stepped out for about an hour around noon for lunch and rejoined the questioning session after 2 pm.
The statement of the 68-year-old Rabri Devi, wife of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Rabri Devi's children, including Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, daughters Misa Bharti (RJD MP in Rajya Sabha), Chanda Yadav and Ragini Yadav have been questioned by the federal agency in this case over the last few months.
The agency had raided the premises of Chanda Yadav, Ragini Yadav, Hema Yadav, and former RJD MLA Abu Dojana in Patna, Phulwari Sharif, Delhi-NCR, Ranchi and Mumbai in March this year.
The agency later claimed to have seized "unaccounted cash" of Rs 1 crore and detected proceeds of crime worth Rs 600 crore during these searches.
The alleged scam pertains to the period when Lalu Prasad was the railway minister in the UPA-1 government.
The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR.
It is alleged by the agencies that during the period 2004-09, various persons were appointed to Group D positions in various zones of the Indian Railways, and in lieu, the persons concerned transferred their land to the family members of Lalu Prasad. It is alleged by the CBI in its complaint that no advertisement or public notice was issued for the appointment but some residents of Patna were appointed as substitutes in different zonal railways located at Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hazipur.
As a quid pro quo, the candidates, directly or through their immediate family members, allegedly sold land to the family members of Lalu Prasad at highly discounted rates, up to one-fourth to one-fifth of the prevailing market rates, the CBI had alleged.
Tejashwi Yadav has denied these allegations in the past, saying that the then railway minister Lalu Prasad had "no powers" to give employment in exchange for favours.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Vidhu Vinod Chopra On Instincts And How He Lives By It
RG Kar Ex-Principal Sandip Ghosh Gets Bail In Doctor's Rape-Murder Case CBI Conducts Searches In Delhi-NCR Over Rs 117 Crore Cyber Crime Case Former CBI Director Vijay Shankar Dies At 76 Is Safe Car Enough? Volvo Crash That Killed CEO, Family Sparks Big Question BJP Leader Who Lost To Priyanka Gandhi Challenges Election, Congress Reacts 4-Year-Old Boy Run Over By Speeding Creta In Mumbai, Teen Driver Arrested Elderly Man, 2 Minor Granddaughters Burnt To Death As Their Hut Catches Fire Putin Vows "Destruction" On Ukraine After Kazan Drone Attack "The Spectacle I Witnessed...": Rajya Sabha Chairman After Chaotic Session Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.