Ranchi Archive

Madhu Koda a good friend: key accused Vinod Sinha

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Business, NationalTags:

Ranchi, Nov 3 – Vinod Sinha, a key accused along with MP Madhu Koda in a Rs.2,000 crore scam in Jharkhand, says the former chief minister ‘is a good friend’ and that the scandal is politically motivated ahead of assembly polls from Nov 25.

‘Koda is a good friend of mine. I belong to his (Singbhum) constituency and I know him well. The income tax (IT) department and Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids are poltically motivated and are aimed at defaming Koda and us,’ businessman Sinha told the Sadhna news channel Tuesday.

‘The raids are motivated because of the coming assembly polls. There are people who do not want Koda to emerge stronger in our areas (Jamshedpur and Chaibaasa),’ Sinha said on a day when Koda was admitted to hospital.

The IT department, which is probing corruption allegations against Koda and his associates, last week raided 70 places in eight cities and claimed to have discovered documents relating to illegal transactions worth Rs.2,000 crore.

Asked about allegations of illegal transactions, including hawala, Sinha said: ‘Where is the scam? Where is the proof? If the IT department has proof, then it should make us the accused and we will approach court.

‘Why has the issue of hawala transactions been raised at the time of assembly polls?’

Asked about the IT department notice asking him and five others to appear before it Nov 6, he said: ‘I will appear personally before the income tax department before the given date and present my version. Through my representative, I wanted a questionnaire from the IT department which I could have answered, but they didn’t entertain my request.’

At the same time, he said: ‘There is no question of escaping (from the law). We assure cooperation to the income tax department.’

Asked about the names of people who, according to Sinha, are trying to implicate them, he said, ‘Wait for some time and we will disclose everything.

‘Koda can’t be in a scam alone. A scam takes the support of many people, including IAS officials,’ Sinha said.

Ujjawal Choudhary, director in the IT department, had earlier said: ‘It seems the illegal transactions made in three Balaji companies and hawala transactions are fully under the control of Vinod Sinha.’

IT officials have also seized documents worth Rs.550 crore sent through hawala to Dubai, Thailand, Malyasia and African countries.

Madhu Koda in hospital, raids continue for fourth day

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: National, PoliticsTags: ,

Ranchi/New Delhi, Nov 3 – Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, under the scanner for allegedly amassing over Rs.2,000 crore (Rs.20 billion / $425 million) illegally, was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Apollo Hospital in Ranchi as raids continued at his premises for the fourth consecutive day Tuesday.

Income Tax (IT) officials were questioning Koda at his Ranchi residence when he said that he was feeling uneasy. Koda has a history of medical problems.

‘He was admitted after complaining of stomach ache, vomiting and high blood pressure. We are conducting tests and will be able to say anything after the test reports,’ D.P Sinha, a doctor at the hospital, told IANS.

‘His condition is now stable,’ he said.

Koda was operated upon a fortnight ago after he complained of stomach pain.

The Lok Sabha MP returned home from the hospital last week when the IT department started raiding his houses and other properties.

Both the Enforcement Directorate and the IT department, which is leading the probe, are investigating disproportionate assets amassed by Koda and his associates. They have already conducted raids at 70 places in eight cities and discovered documents relating to illegal transactions worth Rs.20 billion.

The Enforcement Directorate has already charged Koda with investing $1.7 million in a coal mine in Liberia through a Russian middleman.

Investigators told IANS that they were still trying to unravel investments made at different places, the network used to invest money and people involved in the illegal transactions.

‘This is a big network and money was funnelled illegally to countries abroad,’ said a finance ministry official. The investigations have now fanned out to five countries.

An official press release on Monday said the IT department is continuing its search and seizure operations under provisions of the Income Tax Act and has summoned six people for questioning.

The six who have been asked to appear before the department Nov 6 are Vinod Kumar Sinha, Sanjay Chaudhary, Devendra Mukhiya, Basant Bhattacharya, Manoj Punamiya and Anil Bastawde. Sinha and Chaudhary are close associates of Koda.

‘If they fail to appear on the said date, the department will be constrained to take strict legal actions as permissible under various laws,’ the statement added.

Asked if Koda was cooperating with the IT sleuths, Director-General (IG-Investigation), Anjani Kumar, told reporters, ‘Not much. If I get proper support and cooperation, the investigation will conclude soon.’

Meanwhile, Sinha Tuesday said that he will fully co-operate with the investigation.

‘I will personally appear before the Income Tax department before the given date (Nov 6) and present version of things,’ Sinha told a television channel.

Sinha acknowledged that he is a good friend of Koda and said the raids were ‘politically motivated’ ahead of assembly polls in the state.

‘Koda is good friend of mine. I belong to his constituency and I know him well. The Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate raids are politically motivated and aims to defame Koda,’ Sinha said.

‘The raids are motivated due to assembly polls. There are people who do not want Koda to emerge stronger in our areas (Jamshedpur and Chaibaasa),’ he said.

Koda became chief minister at the age of 35. In 2005, his declaration to the Election Commission listed his total assets at Rs.12 lakh.

Muslim groups, parties demand change in Jharkhand poll date

Published: October 26, 2009Posted in: National, PoliticsTags:

Ranchi, Oct 26 – Various Muslim organisations and political parties have threatened to boycott the first phase of Jharkhand’s assembly elections on Nov 27, the Friday before Bakr-Eid.

A letter, requesting a change of dates, has been sent to the Election Commission Monday. The first phase of elections on Nov 27 falls on Friday, a day before Eid on Nov 28, when mass prayers are offered.

The Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) have backed the Muslim groups in their demand. Besides, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also unhappy with Nov 27 because auspicious marriage dates begin from that day and thousands of weddings have already been scheduled.

On Sunday, 28 Muslim organisations held a meeting here and decided to request the Election Commission and also apprise Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi about the problems they will face on Nov 27.

If the dates are not changed, they said they would boycott the first phase.

The five-round elections begin Nov 27 and end Dec 18, also a Friday.

‘The Election Commission should have considered Jumma (Friday) prayers, which the Muslim community offers. Two dates, Nov 27 and Dec 18, fall on Friday. Both dates should be changed,’ said Haji Hussain Ansari, chairperson of the Jharkhand Haj Committee.

Shamsher Aalam, president of the Jharkhand Tanjim, added: ‘We have faxed a letter to the Election Commission requesting it to change the dates. If the Election Commission will will not consider our request, we may boycott the elections. Muslims will be busy for two hours offering prayers on Friday.’

Counting for the elections will be on Dec 23.

Three Maoists killed in Jharkhand

Published: October 25, 2009Posted in: NationalTags:

Ranchi, Oct 25 – Three Maoist guerrillas were killed in a gun battle with security forces on the outskirts of this Jharkhand capital, police said Sunday.

The gun battle took place near Jonha, around 45 km from Ranchi, late Saturday.

After a tip-off, police had launched a search operation along with the para-military forces.

‘Maoist rebels were going somewhere in two vehicles. When police tried to stop them, they started firing at the police. In the gun battle, three Maoist guerrillas were killed,’ a police officer said.

The police officer said three rifles, live cartridges, hand grenades and other weapons were recovered from the killed rebels.

According to police, the rebels belonged to the Kundan Pahan group which is active in bordering areas of Ranchi, Jamshedur and Khuti.

Relatives of criminal thrash police, kill one cop

Published: October 24, 2009Posted in: NationalTags:

Ranchi, Oct 24 – Relatives of a criminal and other villagers mercilessly beat four Patna policemen who had come to arrest him on the outskirts of Ranchi, leading to the death of one cop while the other three are in serious condition in hospital, police said Saturday.

According to police, the four policemen from Patna had arrived at Irba village, on the outskirts of Ranchi, to arrest a criminal Naushad Friday night. After they took Naushad into custody, his relatives and other villagers started beating the policemen.

The injured policemen have been admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi, where their condition is stated to be serious.

The dead policeman’s name is Ghulam. The policemen, from Kotwali police station of Patna, were in civvies when they came to arrest Naushad in a motorcycle theft case.

‘After arresting Naushad the policemen revealed their identity. It was a deliberate move of the relatives and villagers to free the arrested criminal and they succeeded in their move,’ Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ranchi Praveen Kumar told IANS.

The villagers claim since the policemen were in civvies they mistook them to be abductors.

Maoists kill two people in Jharkhand

Published: October 24, 2009Posted in: NationalTags:

Ranchi, Oct 24 – Maoist rebels killed two villagers on suspicion of being police informers in Palamau district of Jharkhand, police said Saturday.

According to police, Maoist rebels abducted three villagers from Chando village in Palamau district, around 190 km from here, Friday night and took them to the nearby forest.

The bodies of two people were found Saturday morning. The third abducted person is yet to be found.

According to police, the Maoists killed the villagers after terming them police informers.

Jharkhand parties getting into poll mode

Published: October 23, 2009Posted in: National, PoliticsTags:

Ranchi, Oct 23 – Galvanised by the union cabinet’s recommendation to dissolve the Jharkhand assembly, political parties in the state have begun gearing up for the impending elections.

Following the cabinet recommendation Thursday evening, parties began the task of contacting block workers to mobilise voters at the grassroots level.

The cabinet decision coincided with the results of assembly elections in three states and the visit of Home Minister P. Chidambaram who Thursday said the Election Commission would announce dates for the elections in a few days.

Jharkhand has been under president’s rule since Jan 19 after then chief minister Shibu Soren lost the assembly by-election needed to remain in power.

The Congress is upbeat following its victory in Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh — it is slated to take power in Haryana too after getting the support of seven newly elected Independent legislators. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which got a drubbing in the assembly elections, hopes to recover lost ground and says the situation in Jharkhand is different.

‘The victory of the Congress will continue even in Jharkhand. Under the leadership of party president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, we have won three states, and now it is Jharkhand’s turn. The Congress will form government in Jharkhand,’ said union Food Processing Minister and Ranchi Lok Sabha member Subodh Kant Sahay.

State BJP president Raghubar Das was equally confident and said: ‘There will be no impact of the outcome of the three states as the situation in Jharkhand is different. Here people have made up their mind to vote for the BJP.’

‘If the Congress was so confident of victory, why did it not dissolve the assembly to hold elections along with the three states?’ he asked.

The BJP president cited the example of the Lok Sabha elections in which the Congress suffered a humiliating defeat in the state. ‘The Congress lost its sitting seats and BJP won eight of the 14 seats, which indicates the mood of the people of the state.’

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has said elections should take place at the earliest. ‘There is a wave against communal forces in the country. The RJD will perform well in the upcoming assembly elections,’ said Girinath, an RJD legislator.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) of former chief minister and Lok Sabha member Babulal Marandi welcomed the decision to dissolve the assembly, but said it was a long delayed move.