Lalu Prasad Yadav `evasive' during CBI interrogation

NEW DELHI: More than 20 years after he was questioned and arrested in the infamous fodder scam, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav once again appeared before the CBI on Thursday -this time for allegedly awarding a railways hotel maintenance contract to a private company illegally in exchange for prime land for his family in Patna.

The 69-year-old former Bihar CM arrived at the CBI headquarters around 11am with daughter Misha Bharti. She is not being probed in this case.

Top sources told TOI that Lalu was mostly “evasive“during the day-long interrogation. “He was not cooperating in the CBI investigation and claimed ignorance on most issues,“ said a senior officer.

Sources said Lalu was questioned about his 2006 directive to railway ministry officials to hand over a contract of maintenance of two railway hotels to Sujata Hotels, for which tender conditions were tweaked. He claimed ignorance about the tweaking, but CBI sleuths confronted him with note sheets from the ministry that clearly stated the railway minister (charge held by Lalu at that time) gave directions to favour the company , added a source.

Officials say that Lalu's younger son Tejashwi Yadav, named as an accused in the CBI FIR, is likely to appear for questioning on Friday .