Subhash Yadav, brother-in-law of former Bihar CM Lalu Yadav has levelled some shocking allegations against the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Supremo accusing him of harbouring criminals during the RJD rule in Bihar.
In an interview given to City Live, Subhash Yadav, who once used to be Lalu Yadav’s right-hand man, said that during the RJD government in Bihar, all the kidnapping cases in the state used to be settled at the CM residence. Subhash Yadav was referring to the 90’s era which was infamously called as Jungle Raj. “In the 90s, Lalu Yadav used to get the ransom deals settled for the release of hostages in kidnapping cases. Sadhu Yadav (Subhash Yadav’s elder brother) and Subhash Yadav (himself) were unfairly defamed. We did not commit any crime. After my dissociation, Lalu Yadav’s downfall began and he shrank to 20 seats. This time he will further fall below 20 seats,” said Subhash Yadav who no longer has cordial relations with Lalu Yadav. He resigned from the RJD in 2010.
Subhash Yadav accused Lalu Yadav of defaming him for being involved in criminal activities in the state. He said that he and his brother should not be blamed for creating Jungle Raj in the state because it was Lalu Yadav who was the Chief Minister of the state.
Kidnapping cases were settled at the CM residence
Referring to a kidnapping case which he alleged was settled with the intervention of the CM, Subash Yadav revealed, “How could we have been indicted in any case when we did nothing wrong. You must know…there was a case of kidnapping in Araria city in Purnia. Ransom was taken. Who was being blamed for it? Zakir Hussain was blamed for it. He is still alive. Zakir Hussain used to get phone calls from Shahabuddin, Premchand Gupta and Lalu Yadav asking him to release the hostage. But he (Zakir Hussain) had not taken the ransom. Someone else did. He was from Saharsa district in Bihar. The hostage was kept on a boat in Kala Diara. We knew everything.”
”Tikri sahab was fired. He (the hostage) was a relative of his (Tikri) and was going to meet him. He was kidnapped on his way. Rs 6 crore ransom amount was taken in Delhi by some Aggarwal Baniya. But who actually took the ransom money, only the Aggarwal Baniya can tell this, no? How would I know?” Subhash Yadav added.
Yadav said that Lalu Yadav and his people used to threaten Zakir Hussain. “Zakir used to live with me. He joined the party on my insistence. He used to tell me everything how these people used to threaten him,” he added.
Cars lifted from showrooms Lalu’s daughter’s wedding
Talking about the infamous car-lifting incident during Lalu Yadav’s daughter’s wedding, Subhash Yadav said that it happened on the direction of Lalu Yadav. “Azad-Gandhi did not lift the cars. It happened on the direction of Lalu Yadav. There were Bachcha Rai and Azad Gandhi. The cars were not lifted but demanded. Around 15-16 cars came from Tata Motors. They were returned the next morning after the wedding ceremony,” he added.
Subhash Yadav attacked Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi for tarnishing his reputation. “They (Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi) defamed me as a thief in the entire Bihar,” Yadav alleged. He further said Lalu Yadav got rid of him after his children grew up and daughters got married.
Jungle Raj
Bihar witnessed a dark period during the rule of the RJD government headed by Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi in the 90s. Numerous businesses abandoned the state in large numbers to avoid the armed extortionists and hundreds of doctors and engineers were kidnapped and kept hostage for ransom. Unprecedented caste conflicts also transpired in the state and Central Bihar acquired the moniker “killing fields”.
The state economy and administration of Bihar fell apart. Meanwhile, Lalu Prasad got embroiled in the Rs 900 crore fodder scandal in 1996 after which he was sent to jail and his wifeRabri Devi was appointed as the puppet CM by him. However, her administration was eventually overthrown in 20024 with a resounding majority to the BJP-JD(U) coalition which ended the era of the Jungle Raj.
