Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who is at the centre of a
Rs. 2,500 crore money laundering scam, surfaced at his home town Chaibasa hours after Income Tax officials said he had "disappeared" from his home in the state capital on Friday.
Koda, without informing the officials,
went by road to Chaibasa, 130 km from Ranchi, to meet his father Rasik Koda, who is said to be ill.
Ujjwal Chaudhary, IT department director (investigation), told IANS that Koda had told probe officials he wanted to rest and asked them to come in the afternoon.
However, when they went to quiz him at the appointed time in the afternoon, Koda was not at home, he added.
Koda, who was given a warm welcome by his supporters and participated in a public meeting in Chaibasa, said he was being framed in the case.
According to sources, Koda has written a letter to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking a reprieve in the case against him till assembly elections in the state are over.
The five-phase assembly poll begins November 25. Counting will take place December 23.
Meanwhile, the houses of Koda's close associates Vinod Sinha and Sanjay Chaduhary in Jamshedpur and Chaibasa were raided by police to arrest them. The IT department Wednesday issued the arrest warrants against both, after they failed to appear before it for questioning.