I-T raids on Koda's houses continue

"Investigations, questioning and raids at several places are still on," IT Director of Investigation Ujjwal Chaudhary told mediapersons in Ranchi. "It is in a critical stage," he said and refused to share any additional information.

"Raids at some places concluded while they are continuing in several other places. Seizure of documents and sealing of houses is continuing," said another I-T official.

"Some persons have come up to face questioning, while Vinod Kumar Sinha, one of the main associates of Koda, has still not turned up," the official said.

The Income Tax Department on Saturday gave Sinha 24 hours notice to meet them or face legal action. The raids began on Saturday after the Enforcement Directorate registered a case against Koda and his associates Sanjay Choudhary and Vinod Sinha on October 9 on charges of making huge illegal investments abroad.

Some people in Mumbai were also being questioned, the officer said. "It will take some more days to conclude. They (the accused) took three years to hoard the money, and you expect us to conclude in three days," he said when asked whether the search operation would conclude on Monday. As many as seventy I-T teams launched the raids in several cities on Saturday.