Ranchi, Nov. 7: Vikas Sinha, the brother of former chief minister Madhu Koda’s close aide Vinod Sinha, was today remanded to 10 days’ Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody by a special court. He will soon be taken either to Delhi or Patna for interrogation.

The court also ordered medical check up for Sinha every 48 hours during the remand period.

Sinha appeared before the income tax sleuths in Ranchi yesterday and was subsequently arrested by the Enforcement Directorate and forwarded to Birsa Munda Central Jail where he complained of uneasiness. He is alleged to have played a crucial role in siphoning off money through hawala operators.

“During interrogation, Sinha accepted his role in the money transactions. He also explained the modus operandi that was adopted to turn black money into white through hawala operators,” said a senior ED official.

In another development, Koda's condition reportedly took a turn for the worse at Apollo Hospital today, with the former chief minister complaining of dehydration. Income Tax department additional director {investigations) Ajit Shrivastatva, however, maintained that Koda's condition was stable.

“We are in regular touch with the hospital authorities and I will soon be going to the hospital again. The doctors have told us that he is likely to be discharged in a day or two,” he said.

The additional director, however, refused to comment on Koda's wife Geeta's allegation that her husband was being harassed unnecessarily and that nothing was recovered from her place during the raids. Sources also said that investigating agencies were trying to shift Koda to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, for “speedy recovery”.

“We will proceed with interrogations as soon as we get a green signal from the doctors. We stopped recording Koda's statements after he fell ill,” Shrivastava added.

The income tax department today also recorded the statements of Koda's close associates Basant Bhattacharya and Bhim Singh. Two more people were quizzed by the ED, whose names were not disclosed.

The income tax department has decided to initiate necessary steps to secure arrest warrants for Vinod Sinha, Sanjay Choudhary, Devendra Mukhiya, Anil Bastwade and others on Monday. They have failed to respond to interrogation notices. Today, IT commissioner Ajay Kumar too arrived from Patna to examine files related to the mines and geology department.

The director and deputy director of state's mines and geology department were summoned with the files.

“It is too early for us tell anything. We are examining all aspects, including award of mining leases and signing of MoUs. We are checking the old files and recording the statements of concerned persons,” Kumar added.