On 24th August 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids at a mall in Gurugram in Haryana. The Urban Cubes mall which was raided is reportedly owned by Bihar’s deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav. This mall is situated in Sector 71 and the CBI raid is in connection with the land-for-job scam in Bihar.
Besides this mall, the CBI also raided many other places including Whiteland Corporation Private Limited located in the Worldmark building in Sector 65 of Gurugram. According to a report by ABP News, construction of the Urban Cubes mall was done by the Whiteland company. Tejashwi Yadav’s family owns a share in this company. Bihar’s deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav has denied that he owns the mall. He said that the mall does not belong to him and that a BJP MP inaugurated it.
Gurugram mall raided by CBI not mine, it was inaugurated by BJP MP, alleges Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 24, 2022
The investigative agency is conducting raids at various sites related to the RJD leader as it is probing an alleged scam that dates back to Lalu Yadav’s time as the UPA-I government’s minister of railways. Raids are currently taking place at the homes of RJD MP Ashfaque Karim, Rajya Sabha MP Faiyaz Ahmad, RJD MLC Sunil Singh, EX MLC Subodh Rai, and Former RJD MLA Abu Dojana. The agency is simultaneously raiding 25 locations.
CBI raids are underway at 25 places in connection with land for job scam case at different places in Delhi, Haryana’s Gurugram and Bihar’s Patna, Katihar, and Madhubani. pic.twitter.com/6onI7V2HUp
— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2022
While it has been widely reported that Tejashwi Yadav owns the Urban Cubes Mall, the Bihar Deputy CM has rejected the claim. He said that he does not own the mall, adding that it was inaugurated by a BJP MP. Tejashwi Yadav said in the Bihar assembly today that he has enquired about the mall, and found that its director is one Krishna Kumar from Bhiwani in Haryana. He said that his name was being linked with the mall under a conspiracy by the BJP, and he has all the documents to prove it.
Gurugram mall raided by CBI not mine, it was inaugurated by BJP MP, alleges Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 24, 2022
On May 18, 2022, CBI filed a case against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and his daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav. The CBI also named 12 others in this case who were given jobs in the railway zones of Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur.
Lalu Prasad’s family paid the sellers in cash for lands measuring 1,05,292 square feet in Patna. These lands allegedly belong to job seekers’ families and were transferred or purchased in exchange for group-D jobs on the railways. According to the FIR, the people were appointed based on forged documents without any advertisement or public notice.
