New Delhi,November 09: Madhu Koda’s associate Vikas Sinha has told investigators that the entries in a diary kept by his brother Binod on payments made to politicians and Bollywood actresses, are correct. The admission, Enforcement Directorate (ED) sources said, has added a twist to the investigation.
The diary shows that the former Jharkhand CM paid at least Rs200 crore to a former Bihar chief minister and at least three Bollywood actresses were on the payroll of Koda and his associates. Vikas Sinha was arrested by the ED on November 6 and is being questioned in New Delhi.
Some explosive information has been unearthed in the investigations of the past few days and could turn the case into one of the biggest political scandals in recent history.
The diary first emerged after a PIL was filed in Jharkhand high court last year naming at least two politicians — a former Bihar CM and another prominent Congress leader against whose names the numbers 200 and 50 were written. The figures, sources said, are in crores. While Binod is on the run and has not responded to repeated summons, Vikas was arrested by the ED on November 6.
In 2000, Koda had contested assembly polls on a BJP ticked and became a minister in the Jharkhand government. Between 2000 and 2005, he served as minister in the Babulal Marandi and Arjun Munda governments. During Marandi’s tenure, Koda was the minister for panchayati raj, a post he retained when Arjun Munda took over in 2003.
In 2005, Koda left BJP after being denied a ticket and fought the state elections as an independent from Jagannathpur. He won. In 2005, he became mines and co-operatives minister in the BJP government supported by independents. He held charge till 2006.