(MENAFN- Live Mint) "The Enforcement Directorate issued a fresh summons to RJD chief Lalu Prasad and their son Tejashwi Yadav to appear for interrogation at Patna Office in connection with the alleged railways-land-for-jobs money laundering case, officials told news agency PTI law enforcement agency has asked Lalu Prasad to depose on January 29, whereas Tejashwi Yadav has been called the next day on January 30. A team went to the official residence of Lalu Prasad's wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi in Patna to deliver the summons, reported PTI citing officials, the father-son duo had skipped the previous summons issued by the ED in the case. This time, the two have been asked to depose at the Enforcement Directorate office on Bank Road in the capital. The alleged scam was done during the period when Lalu Prasad was the railway minister in the UPA-1 government is land-for-jobs scam?The \"land-for-jobs\" scandal first came to public attention in 2009 when the new UPA government assumed power, leading to Yadav's removal from the position of Union Railway Minister, as his party was not part of the new government. The investigation into the scam was initiated by the newly appointed Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee, following allegations against Yadav. The probe was reinitiated in September 2021 a preliminary inquiry, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officially filed a First Information Report (FIR) in 2022, implicating Yadav, his wife, and his daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav. The CBI contended that Yadav and his associates had acquired substantial tracts of land from individuals seeking employment in the Indian Railways. According to the allegations, the acquired land was then transferred to Yadav's family members and close associates investigation also uncovered instances of favoritism and nepotism in the appointments made by Yadav's office, suggesting that merit was often overlooked. The CBI asserted that Yadav had exploited his position as the Railway Minister to the advantage his family members and associates to the FIR, several Patna residents were appointed as substitutes for various Group-D positions without proper advertisements, violating recruitment norms and procedures between 2004 and 2009. Moreover, the appointment of these candidates were made in different positions of railway zones located in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur CBI has accused Lalu Prasad Yadav of acquiring over 1 lakh square feet of land through this scam.

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