Nod For Prosecution Given On March 11

Bihar Governor Vinod Pande had given permission to the CBI to prosecute former Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi on March 11 in the disproportionate assets case much before Rabri Devi was sworn in as Chief Minister.

The agency, however, did not act on it because of the "volatile political situation" prevailing in the state; with the RJD staking claim to form the government after Mr Nitish Kumar failed to muster majority in the House.

The CBI is likely to file chargesheets after March 23.

The CBI had sought permission to prosecute Mr Laloo Yadav for accumulating assets disproportionate to his known source of income.

 

Mrs Rabri Devi is a co-accused in the case for abetting Mr Laloo Yadav.

It is reliably learnt that the CBI's request had reached the Governor on March 10. It sought permission to prosecute the RJD chief under the Prevention of Corruption of Act and Mrs Rabri Devi under the Indian Penal Code.

Sources in Bihar Raj Bahvan said the Governor had given the nod for the prosecution of Mr Laloo Yadav and Rabri Devi within 24 hours. It is alleged that even as Mrs Rabri Devi was submitting the list of 162 legislators to stake claim, the CBI received the Governor's permission to initiate proceedings.

According to the CBI, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, during his tenure as the Bihar Chief Minister had accumulated assets worth Rs 50 lakh disproportionate to his known source of income.

The agency had registered a case against him in October 1998. Following this, his official residence, 1 Anne Road, in Patna was raided. During interrogation, the RJD chief is believed to have justified assets worth Rs 10 lakh. He is also understood to have said that the assets, which were being attributed to him, actually belonged to his wife, Rabri Devi.

Subsequently, when Rabri Devi was questioned, she is understood to have told the agency that her main source of income was sale of dairy products and that she had received several heads of cattle from her parents.

During the course of the CBI's investigations, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, it its report said that the cow shed inside the Chief Minister's house was built with government money. It was on the basis of this observation that Mrs Rabri Devi was made a co-accused in the case.

Senior CBI officers said the agency did not want to appear politically motivated and hence decided not to carry out the prosecution immediately after receiving the permission to do so and waited till Mrs Rabri Devi proved her majority in the Assembly.