Koda beaten up in jail

The MP claimed he was beaten up by prison guards, but Ranchi Deputy Commissioner K K Soan said the 40-year-old lawmaker, lodged in Birsa Munda Central Jail here, was “beaten up by a couple of prisoners of upper division ward who insisted that he take meal with other inmates”.

“He was admitted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences with injury in his hand,” Soan said.

Doctors attending to Koda said X-ray reports confirmed a fracture in his right hand.
“We were sitting on a dharna peacefully demanding quality food when jail guards attacked us with lathis. They were beating me as if they wanted to eliminate me. It’s a political conspiracy and I demand a judicial probe into the incident,” Koda told reporters in hospital. He said he would report the incident to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.

Koda, who was chief minister from September 2006 to August 2008, was arrested on November 30, 2009 in connection with the multi-crore scam.