New Delhi | Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav skipped CBI's questioning in the land-for-jobs scam for the third time on Tuesday, officials said.
Yadav was given notice to appear for questioning on Tuesday after he did not do so on March 4 and March 11, they said.
He did not appear for questioning on the third notice for Tuesday as well, they said.
The federal agency recently questioned Yadav's father and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi in Delhi and Patna respectively.
The CBI has filed a charge sheet in the land-for-jobs case against Prasad, Rabri Devi and 14 others under charges of criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and all the accused have been summoned on March 15 by a special court.
The Yadav family has denied these allegations.
Recently, the Enforcement Directorate had also carried out searches at the premises allegedly linked to Yadav where the agency claimed to have detected assets worth Rs 600 crore. Yadav termed these as "rumours" on his return to Patna.
"The raid at my house was over in 30 minutes. We thereafter served tea to the ED officials and inquired why they were not leaving. My wife needs care and is suffering from high blood pressure.They said they would leave only after they got a call from above. Clearly, the intent was to carry out a propaganda (war) against me , alleged the Bihar Deputy CM," the RJD leader had said.
The CBI investigation against the Yadav family and other accused is part of its further investigation into documents and evidence which had surfaced after filing of the first charge sheet and also into alleged role of accused which could not be completed in the first report, they said.
The officials said the fresh round of questioning of accused is taking place as part of "further investigation" on the basis of fresh inputs gathered by it during its ongoing probe.
The agency has alleged that during Prasad's tenure as the railway minister in the UPA government from 2004 to 2009, favourite candidates were appointed in the railways in violation of norms and procedures.
These appointments were made allegedly without any advertisement or public notice. Some residents of Patna were appointed as substitutes in different zonal railways located in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hazipur, the CBI has alleged.
As a quid pro quo, the candidates, directly or through their immediate family members, allegedly sold land to the family members of Prasad at highly discounted rates, up to one-fourth to one-fifth of the prevailing market rates.