Once there was a rustic saying in Bihar — jab tak rahega samosa mein aaloo, tab tak rahega Bihar mein lalu. The potato in the samosa remains intact and lalu Prasad is quite active in the politics but what is making headlines these days is balu (sand)
The irrepressible lalu Prasad is seemingly caught in the illicit mining and business of balu with fingers of accusation raised at him for being in cahoots with the sand mafia mainly operating in the diara or riverine areas of Patna, Bhojpur and Saran districts.
The crackdown on the sand mafia started soon after the breaking of the Mahagathbandhan Government. As the operation was intensified allegations started flying thick and fast about lalu’s link with them and their financial support to the RJD. It is alleged that many people close to lalu, including legislators, are involved in this illegal business since a long period and they are main financier of the RJD. The prominent among them are Maner MlA Bhai Birendra.
Birendra is known as a bitter critic of CM Nitish Kumar and had been issuing statements much to the chagrin of the JD(U) leaders when the party had alliance with the RJD. The police first struck at the illegal sand quarrying in the riverine areas of Maner and in the raid about 20 people were arrested including a close relative of the MlA.
Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, who had launched a sustained attack on lalu and his family for their benami assets and money laundering, alleged that sand mafia was main financier of the RJD and the same mafia was funding the party for its proposed August 27 rally. He said, “Subhash Prasad Yadav is a notorious sand mafia and he has three companies namely Bradson Construction, Banshidhar Construction and Mormukut Construction Private limited and these companies have got contract of sand mining in Patna, Bhojpur, Saran, Vaishali, Jehanabad and Arwal district which is worth Rs 237 crores. Yadav is the chief financier of the RJD rally.”
The illegal business of sand mining flourished during the 20-months long grand alliance Government and lalu had carefully managed to take the mines and geology department of which his party’s Muneshwar Choudhary was its Minister. Now this department is headed by Vinod Kumar Singh of BJP.
Some police officials including two inspectors of Digha and Khaje kalan police stations have already been suspended for their suspected nexus with the sand mafia. During the series of raids led by either DIG Rajesh Kumar or Senior SP Manu Maharaaj, mountains of sand, digging machines, JCB, tractors and boats were seized. Not only the sand mining and quarrying but also its storage and transportation are also on the police radar.