Jharkhand government seeks details of raids against Koda

Jharkhand government seeks details of raids against Koda  Ranchi, Nov 2 : The vigilance department of the Jharkhand government will approach the Income Tax (IT) department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to get details of the raids conducted against former chief minister Madhu Koda, who is facing corruption charges, an official said here Monday.

"We will seek the help of IT and ED to get details of raids conducted against Koda and his associates Vinod Sinha and Sanjay Chaudhary. They have a large network spread over many states and many countries," a vigilance department official told IANS.

The department, which is also investigating Koda's assets, had two months back lodged an complaint against him and three other former ministers for amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income.    

It had also conducted searches at the houses of Koda, an independent Lok Sabha MP from Singhbhum, and three former ministers in Ranchi, West Singhbhum and Garwah and had seized documents related to land purchase and jewellery.    

The vigilance department had last month issued notice to them, seeking details of their investment and assets but they are yet to submit the relevant documents.    

"The state vigilance has its limitations and the graft case against Koda and his associates need the combined investigation of the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), IT, ED and other agencies so that their foreign investments can be unearthed," the official said.    

The IT department, which is probing a disproportionate assets allegation against Koda and his associates, had Saturday conducted raids at 70 places in eight cities and discovered documents relating to illegal transactions worth Rs. 2,000 crore.    

The IT department and the enforcement directorate continued searches in cities across the country for the second day Sunday to gather evidence of corruption against Koda, officials had said.    (IANS)