The raids being carried out by the Income Tax department on properties linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu entered day 6 on Monday. The Income Tax department so far recovered over Rs 355 crore cash during a series of raids on an Odisha-based distillery group on charges of tax evasion.
The Income Tax officials said the raids at 9 locations in Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal were in their final stages.
The counting of the cash is still going on at Sahu's house in Ranchi, while the counting has almost been completed at all the places, they added.
More than 50 employees of State Bank of India counted recovered cash using more than 25 machines. During the counting, few machines started malfunctioning due to overheat.
Earlier in 2019, Rs 257 crore was found in the Kanpur GST raid.
However, the Income Tax Department did not issue any official statement. The I-T Department usually does not release statement until the raid is completed and all the documents including recovered cash, jewellery, property are assessed.
Once the operation is completed, the Income Tax Department asks the person concerned about the cash and the sources of all recoveries.
If correct details of the cash, jewellery and property recovered are not given then all the recoveries will be seized and deposited in the bank.
After counting in Ranchi, the Income Tax Department will interrogate Sahu. As a lot of cash has also been found from Sahu's family members, the officials will give inquiry notice to them and will take further action.
Congress distances itself
The Congress on Saturday distanced itself from its Jharkhand Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu after the recovery of a huge amount of cash from a liquor company linked to him.
"The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dheeraj Sahu, MP. Only he can explain and should explain, how huge amounts of cash have been reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties," AICC general secretary Communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured the people that the money looted from the public will be returned.
Taking to X, the Prime Minister said, "The countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the honest speeches' of their leaders ..Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modi's guarantee."
