• Notification Date: 11-12-2023
• Notification No: N/A

100 Officers Raid at Congress MP's Premises; almost Rs 300 crores recovered

The value of the unaccounted cash seized by the Income Tax Department from the premises linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu in Odisha and Jharkhand is likely to amount to Rs 300 crore figure, official sources said on Saturday. 

With this, the cash seizure in the raids which began on Wednesday, will make it the "highest-ever" black money haul by any agency in a single operation, sources revealed. 

Most of the cash was recovered from premises linked to Boudh Distillery Private Limited in Odisha. 

The counting of the seized notes was still going on at the time of writing this report. Official sources reported that the counting of cash is expected to be over by Saturday. 

Around 200 big and small bags were used to pack the cash. Some of the bags are yet to be opened for counting. 

Reinforcements Brought in- 

To speed up the process of counting the notes, the Income Tax Department has deployed about 40 large and small machines and brought in more department and bank staffers. The department also acquired more vehicles to transport the seized cash to government banks in the state. 

Further, more than 100 officers of the Income Tax Department were also deployed in different places in the Bolangir district, said sources. 

In the latest development on Saturday, the Income Tax teams seized three more bags from Dheeraj Sahu’s premises in Ranchi, while nearly 19 bags of money were seized from the house of one Bunty Sahu, deputed as in charge of the maintenance of liquor factories in the areas of Odisha where raids were conducted. 

Sources said the amount recovered from Bunty Sahu's house was expected to cross Rs 20 crore. 

Cash amounting to more than Rs 225 crore was counted on Friday and the money is continuously being deposited in government bank branches in Odisha. Most of the currency notes are of Rs 500 denomination. 

The Income Tax Department investigators have started recording the statements of various company officials and others. Dheeraj Sahu has not given any reactions to the raids so far. 

Notable past seizures from the past include the 2019 GST Intelligence raid on a Kanpur businessman and the Income Tax department uncovering Rs 163 crore during searches on a Tamil Nadu Road construction firm in July 2018.