Madhu Koda in hospital after facing corruption charges

RANCHI - Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, who is alleged to have amassed illegal wealth worth at least Rs.2,000 crore (Rs.20 billion / $425 million), was admitted to a private hospital here Tuesday after he complained of severe stomach ache.

He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Apollo Hospital.

“We cannot say what exactly is the problem. We are conducting tests and we will be able to say anything after the test reports,” a doctor at the hospital told IANS.

Koda was operated upon a fortnight ago after he complained of similar stomach pain. The Lok Sabha MP returned home from the hospital last week when the Income Tax Department started raiding his houses and other properties.

The IT department has been probing a disproportionate assets allegation against Koda and his associates and Saturday conducted raids at 70 places in eight cities and discovered documents relating to illegal transactions worth Rs.2,000 crore (Rs.20 billion).

Koda was interrogated on camera by the IT sleuths and was charged with not cooperating with the investigation.

“Koda is not fully cooperating in the investigation. The search operations would have concluded had Koda been cooperating fully,” IT department’s Director General for Investigation Anjani Kumar had told reporters Monday.