IRCTC scam: Delhi court summons Lalu, Rabri, Tejashwi

In a big blow to former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav, a Delhi court on Monday summoned the trio in connection with the 2013 Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) scam.

The development comes after the court reserved its summon orders for the party top brass earlier in the day. The court also took cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the same.

On August 31, the court had granted bail to Rabri Devi, Tejashwi and others in a money laundering case related to the scam. The RJD chief's bail was pending as he could not appear before the court on account of health-related issues.

Lalu, who headed the Railway Ministry from 2004 to 2009, is accused of misusing his position in allotment of a contract to a private company for the maintenance of two IRCTC hotels located at Puri and Ranchi.

The prosecution report had also stated that the two hotels of the Indian Railways were first transferred to IRCTC and was sub-leased to the Sujata Hotel Pvt. Ltd owned by Vijay and Vinay Kochhar for maintenance.