Vinod Sinha (centre) being taken to the CBI court in Ranchi on Monday. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, Sept. 27: CBI today got three more days to grill Vinod Sinha, Madhu Koda’s key aide who has alleged that the former chief minister had to pay senior leaders of the Congress, JMM and RJD every hour to remain in power.

The agency, which produced Sinha at a special court on September 18 and got him on 10-day remand, argued today that it needed more time to wrap up his interrogation.

Sinha’s lawyer Pandey Neeraj Rai contested this, but the court agreed to extend his remand.

CBI officials believe Sinha, who hasn’t been evasive with his replies, has given them several possible leads to unearth various facets of the the multi-crore scam, estimated to be worth anything between Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 2,000 crore.

According to CBI sources, his confessions would not only establish how Koda and his associates made money but also throw light on how the Independent MLA stayed on in office for 23 months with support from Congress, JMM and RJD.

“Koda had to pay to continue as chief minister every hour. And Sinha was the person who generated funds under his patronage and distributed it among politicians who mattered in Congress, JMM and RJD in Ranchi, Patna and Delhi,” a source said quoting a CBI dossier of Sinha’s confessions.

“Koda faced several ultimatums during his tenure by the supporting parties but ultimately nothing used to happen after they were paid huge money,” Sinha is said to have told the CBI, the source added.

Sinha, who is being questioned by at least five CBI officers headed by SP Ramneesh, is also said to have admitted that bulk of the funds were generated through signing MoUs and recommending iron ore leases.

“Koda did not generate much funds through transfers and postings as most plum departments were headed by Independent ministers and the former chief minister did not meddle into their affairs,” he apparently confessed to the CBI.

Sinha also claimed Koda had spent around Rs 18 crore while contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Chaibasa and admitted he accompanied him to Bangkok where he ran a company.

According to the CBI, Sinha’s revelations have provided several leads. “Our main challenge now is to unearth the hidden assets and prepare a dossier of expenses to establish the disproportionate assets case,” pointed out a senior CBI official requesting anonymity.

“The claim on poll expenses could also trouble Koda as the upper limit for expenses in parliamentary elections is Rs 25 lakh only,” he added.

On August 11, the CBI took over two cases lodged by state vigilance bureau against Koda and five of his cabinet colleagues for owning disproportionate assets running into crores.

The first case involved former ministers Harinarayan Rai and Anosh Ekka, while the second one involved Koda, Kamlesh Singh, Bandhu Tirkey and Bhanu Pratap Sahi.

CBI in Ranchi is investigating the first case while the second case is being probed by the Delhi CBI.

According to vigilance chargesheets, both Koda and Kamlesh Singh owned disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 1.50 crore each.

The chargesheet filed against Anosh Ekka claimed he had amassed unaccounted assets worth Rs 6.67 crore though his total earnings grossed a paltry Rs 15 lakh during the four-and-a-half-years he was minister.

Rai’s assets were estimated to be around Rs 1.63 crore.