BackKoda hospitalized with stomach ache amid I-T raids
Koda hospitalized with stomach ache amid I-T raids
PremiumIn a mess: Madhu Koda in hospital with wife Gita. PTI
New Delhi: Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, who has been under questioning by India’s income-tax department since the weekend for allegedly siphoning off millions of dollars to buy mines in Africa and properties across Asia, was hospitalized in intensive care on Tuesday in Ranchi after complaining of stomach problems, officials said.
“A week back he was discharged from the hospital after being cured of a kidney ailment. Today he came with stomach ache and his blood pressure was high," one of the doctors attending to him at the Abdur Razzak Memorial Weavers’ Hospital said.
Tax officials allege Koda, now a member of Parliament, plundered at least $400 million while he was mines minister and later chief minister of Jharkhand. Officials allege Koda, along with two key colleagues, bought coal mines in Liberia and properties and other assets in places such as Indonesia, Hong Kong and India.
“We have identified the main (alleged) players. There are many players who are still not identified," Ujjwal Chaudhary, a senior I-T official, said after authorities conducted dozens of raids.
The raids came just ahead of a week-long national drive against official corruption by the country’s Central Vigilance Commission.
“The entire scam was worth at least Rs2,000 crore," a senior government official said on condition of anonymity.
Koda, 38, has denied the accusations, calling them a conspiracy hatched by political opponents.
(‘PTI’ contributed to this story.)
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