Court grants bail to Rabri, Tejashwi in IRCTC case
New Delhi, Aug 31 : A court here on Friday issued a production warrant against former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and granted bail to his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav and some others in connection with a 2006 IRCTC hotels maintenance contract case.
The case relates to alleged irregularities in the allotment of contracts of two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri to a private firm involving a bribe in the form of a three-acre commercial plot at a prime location in Patna district.
Special Judge Arvind Kumar asked jail authority of Ranchi to present Lalu Prasad before his court on October 8. The Rashtriya Janata Dal chief is lodged in a Ranchi Jail in connection with a fodder scam.
The court asked former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav to each furnish personal bonds of Rs one lakh and a surety of same amount.
They appeared in pursuance of summon issued against them.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April filed the charge sheet in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels maintenance contract case against 12 people and two companies.
Among those named in the charge sheet were Bihar former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, his wife and son, former Managing Director of IRCTC P.K. Goel, Sujata Hotels directors Vinay and Vijay Kochhar, Sarala Gupta -- wife of Prem Chand Gupta, RJD MP.
The CBI charge-sheet also named Additional Member of the Railway Board B.K. Agarwal, who was then Group General Manager (GGM) of the IRCTC.
The central probe agency also named former GGM of IRCTC V.K. Asthana, R.K. Gogia -- then GGM (company secretary) of IRCTC, Ramesh Saxena -- then IRCTC Director, and Sujata Hotels Pvt Ltd.
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Rupee falls 20 paise to 95.43 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 20 paise to 95.43 against US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as market sentiments remained fragile after renewed military exchanges between US and Iranian forces in the Gulf region.
Forex traders said investor anxiety due to instability in the Gulf is causing massive capital flight into safe-haven assets, with the US dollar acting as the primary beneficiary.
Moreover, Brent oil prices is hovering near USD 113 per barrel, maintaining pressure on oil-importing economies like India.
At the interbank foreign exchange market the rupee opened at 95.30 then lost ground to touch 95.43 against the US dollar, in initial trade, registering a fall of 20 paise over its previous close.
Rupee fell 39 paise to close at an all-time low of 95.23 against the US dollar on Monday.
"With oil boiling rupee on Monday fell to a closing low of 95.0875 and this morning the opening was still lower as it becomes more and more vulnerable when dollar index rises due to safe-haven buying and oil prices rise due to the continuous fighting in the Gulf Region," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
The higher oil prices will keep rupee sold off against the dollar as oil companies and FPIs intensify dollar buying, Bhansali added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.51, up 0.15 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 1.07 per cent at USD 113.22 per barrel in futures trade.
"Market sentiments remained fragile after renewed military exchanges between US and Iranian forces when Iranian forces launched fresh attacks in the Gulf as both sides sought to assert control over the strategic waterway," Bhansali said.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 361.62 points to 76,907.78 in early trade, while the Nifty dropped 134.90 points to 23,980.60.
Foreign Institutional Investors purchased equities worth Rs 2,835.62 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
