Fresh Sushil Modi salvo: Lalu family has Rs 115 cr benami property

RJD dismissed the allegations and dared Modi to get all the charges probed by a central agency

In a fresh salvo against RJD chief Lalu Prasad's family, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday alleged that it had amassed "benami property" worth Rs 115 crore in a posh area of New Delhi through a shell company.

RJD, however, dismissed the allegations and dared Modi to get all the charges probed by a central agency.

"Lalu Prasad's family got control over A B Exports Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, which owned a land and an under construction house on it, valued together at Rs 115 crore at New Friends Colony in New Delhi. The company's entire share holding, directorship and properties have been given to Prasad's family," Modi alleged showing documents purportedly supporting his claim.

One Ashok Kumar Banthia's A B Exports got interest free loans of Rs 5 crore - Rs one crore each from five diamond jewellers of Mumbai - and bought an 800 sq metre plot (no D- 1088) in New Friend's Colony in 2007-08, he claimed.

"At present, the value of the plot is estimated to be around Rs 55 crore on which a four-storied building is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 60 crore," he said.

According to the balance sheet of A B Exports', it did not have any employee and did no business in the past 15 years, and later all the shares and directorship of the company were handed over to Prasad's family, Modi claimed.

Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav was made a director of the company in January 2011, followed by his elder brother minister Tej Pratap in June 2014, he claimed.

However, the two brothers were no more directors of the company, though Tejashwi held 98 per cent of its shares, the BJP leader said, adding that at present, Prasad's daughters Ragini Lalu and Chanda Yadav were the directors.

He demanded a thorough probe and asked why Banthia handed over the company to Prasad's family, whether Banthia was a genuine or fake person and why did five jewellers give interest free loans to the company.

Claiming that Prasad and his family earlier acquired the assets worth crores of rupees of two companies, Delight Marketing Pvt Ltd and A K Infosystems Pvt Ltd, Modi alleged that Prasad and his family had acquired benami assets of Rs 1,000 crore through shell companies with the investments of merely a few lakhs of rupees.

He demanded that corruption cases be lodged against and trial proceedings initiated under Bihar Special Courts Act, 2009 under which assets of public servants could be seized.

Modi, a one-time deputy of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, said "He (Nitish) is keeping mum in this regard but I will force him to break his silence."

Replying to the charges, RJD spokesman Mritunjay Tiwari said that Modi has been "running an old cassette with the help of his 56 inch of tongue. Everything is in accordance with the law and available in public domain."

"Our leader Lalu Prasad has already said that the BJP could get all the rubbishes uttered by Sushil Modi be probed by a central agency or even by UNO," he told PTI.

"Sidelined in the party after rising of new state BJP president Nityanand Rai, Modi is trying to revive his political fortune with the help of Lalu Prasad's name," the RJD spokesman said.

Since his soil purchase allegation was proved wrong, he should quit from his posts and apologise to people, Tiwari said.

Modi is leader of opposition in state Legislative Council and also BJP state parliamentary party leader.