Ranchi, Nov 6 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday made its first arrest in the Rs.2,500 money laundering scam allegedly involving former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda by nabbing the brother of a close associate.
“We have arrested Vikas Sinha,” Prabha Kant, deputy director, ED, told reporters here. Vikas Sinha is the brother of Vinod Sinha, who according to income tax (IT) officials is the kingpin of the scam and a good friend of Lok Sabha MP Koda.

The IT department had raided his house in Jamshedpur and he was brought to Ranchi Friday and arrested by the ED. According to sources, ED will seek court permission to conduct a narco test on Vikas Sinha.

ED has also served notices on three former ministers in the Koda cabinet, summoning them to New Delhi for interrogation from Nov 10 to 12 with details of their assets and investments. These are Kamlesh Singh, Bhanu Pratap Shahi and Bandhu Tirkey.

Harendra Singh, the personal secretary of Koda, is also in the IT department’s custody. He is said to have surrendered and was brought to the Ranchi IT office under heavy security.

More people are likely to be arrested. Others who appeared Friday in the IT office are Bhim Singh and Anil Bastawde.

The IT department on Nov 2 had asked Vinod Sinha, Sanjay Kumar Choudhary, Devendra Mukhiya, Basant Bhattacharya, Manoj Punamiya and Bastawde to appear before it by 11 a.m. Friday.

On Oct 9, the ED had lodged a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Koda, the three former ministers as well as his associates Vinod Sinha and Chaudhary.