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CBI grills Laloo, chargesheet soon

The Central Bureau of Investigation today interrogated Rashtriya Janata Dal President Laloo Prasad Yadav for more than two hours in connection with the disproportionate assets case.

According to CBI sources, the interrogation carried out at the agency's state headquarters in Patna was over and the chargesheet in the case will be filed soon.

The agency team headed by Joint Director (East) U N Biswas interrogated Yadav about the details which he did not file in his income tax returns besides particulars about his and his family's other sources of income.

The CBI had interrogated Yadav earlier on October 21, 1998 in connection with the case involving disproportionate assets of more than Rs 4.2 million.

The CBI also wanted to know how much he spent during the festivals when people thronged his residence and queried about certain individuals who had deposited and withdrew money from his accounts.

Meanwhile, Yadav told newspersons that the CBI sleuths behaved well with him during the interrogation and had asked only eight to ten questions in all.

He said all the questions were related to his income tax returns and some of them were the same he had been asked during the first interrogation.

The former chief minister said, ''I am ready to be quizzed a thousand times as I have done nothing wrong and no unaccounted money is available with me.''

Yadav said he asked the CBI officials why they were playing ''football'' with him when there was certainly no evidence against him in the case.

On being quizzed by the agency officials on the Rs 10,000 which former Union Minister Kanti Singh gave his daughter, he claimed that the said amount was given to his daughter on her birthday without his knowledge. He said he did not mention it in the income tax returns since it was not known to him.

Yadav reached the CBI headquarters well in time in response to the summons. The interrogation began at around 10.45 am and continued till 12.45 pm.

When the CBI interrogated Yadav earlier, he had disclosed that some funds used in the construction of his house was taken as loan from his wife and Chief Minister Rabri Devi.

His answer forced the CBI to quiz Rabri Devi twice on May 20 and 27.

The CBI had also quizzed former Union minister Kanti Singh on May 28 in the same case. Singh, who happens to be close to the chief minister's family, was shown some papers by the agency officials during her 25-minute interrogation.

The agency filed the case of disproportionate assets against Yadav on August 19,1998 and raided the chief minister's residence and residences of her close relatives on August 21.

A three-member team of the Central Vigilance Commission was also assessing the value of the immovable property of Yadav in different parts of the state.

The services of the CVC team were requisitioned by the CBI to assess the market value of the property declared by the RJD chief in his income tax returns.

UNI

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