Raids against former Jharkhand chief minister

The crackdown against former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda is intensifying with over 60 places raided in Jharkhand, Bihar, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow by Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate officials on Saturday.

Koda who was a minister before becoming the chief minister has been accused of laundering Rs 4000 crore - almost half of Jharkhand's annual budget. Koda was chief minister for nearly two years, till August last year. Now he is an Independent Member of Parliament.

The Enforcement Directorate has already filed a chargesheet against him - the first top politician to be booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Ujjwal Chaudhary, Director (Investigations) of the Income Tax department, Bihar and Jharkhand, says, "When Madhu Koda was the mining minister and then when he was chief minister, there seem to be transactions involving unaccounted money."

In Lucknow, two properties belonging to Koda were raided and computers were seized from a house in the posh Gomti Nagar area. Sources say a rural electrification firm that was given work when Koda was chief minster has its office here.

Koda's reaction at a press conference nearly 20 days ago - "I totally deny it. I have no investment whatsoever in any firm, foreign or Indian. I made a mark as an independent, but now people see me as a threat, that's why they are out to destroy me."

Is Koda hinting at the Congress that made an Independent MLA like him the chief minister? With Jharkhand going to the polls in about 20 days from now, Koda may well find himself politically isolated. 
Source : NDTV
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