Income-tax department seal Koda’s official residence at Deendayal Nagar in Ranchi on Wednesday. (Prashant Mitra)

Ranchi, Nov. 4: The income-tax authorities today sealed the gate leading to the official residence of former chief minister Madhu Koda in Deendayal Nagar even as the Enforcement Directorate summoned him and his associates for further questioning.

The authorities sealed a part of the premises, allowing Koda’s guards use of the larger grounds. Koda’s wife Geeta is attending to her husband at Apollo Hospital where he was admitted yesterday after complaining of giddiness and nausea. The ED summon, which was delivered to Koda at the hospital, directed him and his associates to be present at the ED’s Delhi office on November 9 for three days of questioning in connection with money laundering charges.

The ED had lodged Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIR) against Koda, his former Cabinet colleagues Kamlesh Singh, Bhanu Pratap Shahi and Bandhu Tirkey, his close aides Vinod Sinha, Vikas Sinha, Sanjay Chaudhary and Dhananjay Chaudhary on October 9. The ECIRs was lodged under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Koda, admitted in the ICU of Apollo Hospital, showed some improvement today. Medical superintendent of the hospital P.D. Sinha said he will be shifted to the general ward tomorrow. The IT authorities have also shot off a letter to the hospital authorities, asking them to inform the department before releasing the former chief minister.

Income-tax director (investigation) Ujjwal Chaudhary told The Telegraph that searches were on in some places and prohibitory orders had been imposed in other places. He refused to give further details.

A senior official, however, said the investigating team would go back to the premises and persons under scanner whenever new facts emerged.

Various directorates of the I-T department in Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai, Lucknow, Nasik, and Jamshedpur have sent documents seized by them and other evidence to the investigations (income-tax) directorate in Jharkhand. Director-general of income-tax Anjani Kumar and ED deputy director Prabhat Kant are camping here to monitor investigations.

A senior IT official said the search operation against Koda and his associates, on since October 31, was nothing like the routine raids conducted to detect tax evasion.

“It has huge ramification and many facts will tumble out once the ED as well as the income-tax department begin scrutiny of documents recovered. These documents pertain to alleged hawala transactions and investments running into more than Rs 2,000 crore by Koda and his associates,” he pointed out.

He added that the ED got the chance to intervene when the state vigilance bureau registered cases against under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Koda and his aides.

“Though the I-T raids on Koda are being given a political colour as it has come before the Assembly elections, the I-T authorities had no option but to unearth unaccounted for wealth in order to save its own face when the ED lodged the FIR,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kumar and additional director (investigation) Ajit Kumar Srivastava met the governor’s advisor G Krishnan yesterday to find out about the procedure of granting mining leases to figure if Koda, during his chief ministership deviated from the procedure.

Krishnan said the I-T authorities have been asked to furnish information against government officials whose homes were raided.