‘Lalu’s associate ‘acquired’ several lands in land-for-railway jobs case’

New Delhi: Amit Katyal, who was arrested recently in the alleged land-for-railway jobs money laundering case, “acquired” several lands from aspirants on behalf of the RJD chief and former Union railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, the ED has alleged.

Katyal was first detained and later arrested by the central agency on November 11 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A local court in Delhi later sent him to the agency’s custody till November 16.

The Enforcement Directorate claimed its probe found that Katyal was the director of a company called AK Infosystems Pvt. Ltd when one of the lands from candidates was acquired by the said company “on behalf” of Lalu Prasad.

‘The registered address of the company is D-1088, New Friends Colony, New Delhi, which is the house belonging to Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family members. Several other lands were also acquired by Amit Katyal in the said company in return for giving undue favours by Lalu Prasad Yadav when he was minister of railways,’ the agency alleged in a statement issued on Monday.

After acquiring the land, it said, shares of the said company were “transferred” to the family members of Lalu Prasad in 2014. The premises of Katyal were raided by agency in March, when it had also covered the premises of Lalu Prasad, his son and Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, his daughters and others.