I-T Department's Rs. 290cr 'biggest cash-recovery' linked to Congress MP
What's the story
At least Rs. 290 crore in cash has reportedly been recovered by the Income Tax Department from premises linked to the Congress's Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu in Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
It is being considered the agency's biggest cash recovery so far, with the counting still ongoing.
Tax department officials have been raiding Sahu's premises in these states since Wednesday. They started with Boudh Distillery Private Limited (BDPL) in Odisha, where most of the money was recovered.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Since Wednesday, the I-T Department officials have seized at least Rs. 290 crore in cash during their raids conducted on suspicion of tax evasion.
Sahu's extended family is allegedly engaged in a major alcohol manufacturing business.
While the Congress MP's son, Ritesh Sahu, is the managing director of BDPL, his elder brother, Uday Shanker Prasad, is the company's chairperson. Reportedly, BPDL manufactures extra neutral alcohol.
Details
Details on cash seizures so far
Furthermore, officials said cash amounting to Rs. 200 crore was recovered from the distillery group's premises in Odisha's Bolangir district.
Meanwhile, the remaining amount was found in different locations like Odisha's Sambalpur and Sundargarh, Jharkhand's Bokaro and Ranchi, and West Bengal's Kolkata.
As per I-T Director General Sanjay Bahadur, overseeing the raids in Bhubaneswar, agency officials were also finding several other links to the recovered money.
What Next?
Counting process ongoing; over 30 officials, bank officers involved
As of Saturday, more than 30 officials and bank officers were part of the counting process of the money seized.
Around 40 currency counting machines, both small and large, have been deployed to finish the process; more officials might be called in, if required, too.
According to PTI, the counting of the notes was going at a slow speed due to the machines having limited capacity. Most of the recovered notes were of the Rs. 500 denomination.
Know more
BJP attacks Rahul Gandhi, Congress over raids
Separately, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Information and Technology Department chief Amit Malviya bashed the Congress and Rahul Gandhi over the income tax raids at Sahu's premises.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Malviya alleged Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra was a journey to connect the "thieves" of the country.
"Nearly Rs. 300 crore recovered from the premises of Congress Rajya Sabha MP [Sahu] in Jharkhand is a living proof of this," he claimed.
Twitter Post
You can check out Malviya's post here
राहुल गांधी की भारत जोड़ो यात्रा दरअसल भारत के चोरों को जोड़ने की यात्रा थी। कांग्रेस #CorruptionKiDukan है। झारखंड में कांग्रेस के राज्यसभा सांसद धीरज साहू के ठिकानों से बरामद लगभग 300 करोड़ रुपए इसका जीता-जागता प्रमाण है। pic.twitter.com/Sc7Pt2D7ZV
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 9, 2023