The Income Tax (IT) department Tuesday denied that there were any plans to interrogate Bollywood actresses Koena Mitra and Celina Jaitley for receiving money from former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda who is at the centre of a Rs.2, 500 crore money laundering scam."We are unable to understand from which source media is saying that we are planning to interrogate the Bollywood actresses. At present, we are focusing on transactions of money and how money was taken outside the country, " Director, IT Investigation, Ujjwal Chaudhary told.
According to sources, the focus of investigation is on Koda, and his associates Vinod Sinha, Sanjay Chaudhary and some other people.
According to reports in sections of the media, Mitra and Jaitley were to be interrogated by IT officials for taking money from Koda.
Mitra was appointed as brand ambassador of Jharkhand in January 2008 and she was allegedly paid Rs. 50 lakh and Rs.10 lakh was paid to Jaitley. Koena however says that these are mere allegations and she did not get this big amount from Koda.
So, what exactly is her take?
"I have been accused of taking Rs 50 lac for being the ‘face of Jharkhand’. If I had to agree to being the ‘face of a state’, why would I settle for Rs 50 lac only? I’d have charged Rs 80 lac," fumes Koena and adds, "Being the ‘face of a state’ is not something that can happen on the basis of verbal communication. It’s a huge responsibility."
"Besides, hawala money is given in a hundi. Why would they give money for being the ‘face of a state’ in a hundi? A formal letter has to be sent to me from the state government. I never received anything of that sort.
As a celebrity, I was only invited to be a part of a rally. I belong to neighbouring West Bengal and love the culture of Jharkhand. So I did it without charging any fee. As a token gesture however they gave me Rs 3 lakh followed by another Rs 11,000 besides a shawl, chocolates and flowers. I also got first-class treatment from them. But I haven't got any Rs 50 lakh from him," she says.
Koena was later removed after Koda faced criticism over the move.
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