By IANS,
Ranchi : Five days after he was last questioned, the Income Tax (IT) department Tuesday sent a notice to former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda asking him to appear for interrogation Nov 19. The authorities also denied reports that Koda had been tortured.
He is to be questioned for his alleged role in the Rs.2,500 crore money laundering scam, but Nov 13 he had disappeared from his home in Ranchi and surfaced in his Lok Sabha constituency of Singhbhum.
“On Tuesday we sent a notice to Koda asking him to be present in Ranchi for questioning. IT and Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials will interrogate him,” Ujjwal Chowdhary, director, IT, investigations, told IANS.
“Our investigation is on and we are going through documents and other things seized during search operations.”
Asked about Koda’s allegation that he was being tortured by IT officials during interrogation, Chowdhaery said: “We have nothing to do with the statements. The interrogation took place in front of the camera and he was not tortured.”
“We will submit the details of seizure and the progress report of investigations in court on the stipulated date,” said Chowdhary.
Two close associates of Koda — Vinod Sinha and Sanjay Chaudhary — are absconding. The IT department had issued arrest warrants on Nov 11 after they failed to appear before it. The Jharkhand Crime Investigation Department (CID) had alerted the police chiefs of some states.
Another IT official said: “Koda is not cooperating. He is a master of ducking questions by making excuses. Koda rarely replies directly to our questions.”
Koda initially ducked IT interrogators when he got admitted to Apollo hospital Nov 3 with complaints of a stomachache and high blood pressure. He was discharged from hospital Nov 8 and sought rest.
After two days, the IT department started interrogation Nov 10. But on Nov 13, Koda disappeared from his house and surfaced in his hometown Chaibasa, which comes under his Singhbhum Lok Sabha constituency. In his hometown, he is holding public meetings and interacting with supporters.
He has dared investigators to prove the charges, saying he will quit politics if that happens. Now he says IT officials tortured him during interrogation.
Koda has also avoided ED officials by skipping two dates. Now ED, besides, the IT department, has asked him to appear in Ranchi for interrogation Nov 19.
On Oct 9, the ED had lodged a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Koda, three more former ministers as well as his associates Vinod Sinha and Sanjay Chaudhary.