Court permits ED to quiz Koda

Ranchi, Dec 19 (IANS) A court here Saturday permitted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to interrogate jailed former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda who is allegedly involved in a Rs.2,500 crore money laundering scam.

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court of Pankaj Kumar granted the permission at the request of the ED.         
ED officials have also been permitted to visit five foreign countries - Thailand, Dubai, Indonesia, Sweden and Liberia - and gather evidence of investments there.          
Koda is in jail since Nov 30. He is admitted in Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) here for treatment.         
The ED officials will interrogate him in hospital after the doctors' permission.        
The PMLA court has also declared two associates of Koda - Vinod Sinha and Sanjay Chaudhary - as proclaimed offenders.         
The court had earlier issued arrest warrants against them. The police did not succeed in arresting them nor did they surrender in the court.         
Besides Sinha and Chaudhary, the court also declared businessman Manoj Punamiya,          
Lalit Jain and Arvind Vyas as proclaimed offenders.        
Earlier this month, the court had granted a letter rogatory for a probe into the assets of Koda and his associates.         
Last month, Koda had defied the ED summons and did not appear before it on three occassions -- Nov 11, 15 and 19. The former chief minister was arrested by the Jharkhand  Vigilance Commission in a separate assets case on November 30.        
On Oct 9, the ED lodged a case under the PMLA against Koda, three former ministers as well as Sinha and Sanjay Chaudhary.