ED files chargesheet against Lalu, Rabri, Tejashwi in IRCTC case
New Delhi, Aug 24 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed chargesheet against former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav and others in a money laundering case related to the 2006 IRCTC hotels maintenance contract.
The chargesheet was filed before Special Judge Arvind Kumar who has listed the matter for further hearing on August 25.
The case relates to alleged irregularities in the allotment of contracts of two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006 to a private firm involving a bribe in the form of a three-acre commercial plot at a prime location in Patna district.
ED in its chargesheet has also named Prasad's party colleague P.C. Gupta, his wife Sarla Gupta, a firm Lara Projects and 10 others as accused in Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels tender case.
All of them are booked under various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
"The attachment worth Rs 44.75 crore of Delight Marketing has also been confirmed by adjudicating authority in the case," the ED said in a statement.
ED alleged that Prasad and IRCTC officials allegedly misused their position for granting sub-lease of the rights of two railway hotels at Puri and Ranchi to Sujata Hotel Pvt. Ltd. owned by Kochhars.
"In lieu thereof, 358 decimal (3.5 acre) of prime land were transferred to Delight Marketing Company Pvt Ltd (a company owned by family of Gupta) in February 2005 at a consideration which was much less than the then prevailing circle rates," ED said.
"The said company possessing valuable chunk of land gradually got transferred to Rabri Devi and her son Tejashwi by way of share purchase at nominal prices," ED said.
The funds used to acquire the land had a dubious origin and had been laundered through IST group of companies belonging to Gupta by using an NBFC named Ms Abhishek Finance Company Limited belonging to PNR group of companies.
subsequently, the shares of Delight Marketing Company Private Limited were acquired by Rabri Devi and Tejashwi at less than fair market value.
The Central Bureau of Investigation in April filed the chargesheet in the IRCTC hotels maintenance contract case against 12 people and two companies.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
