The Income Tax officials and CISF personnel on Tuesday left Balangir after raids at Congress MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu's premises ended after over a week's search. As many as 30-34 premises in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal were searched, officials said. However, the raids are continuing in Ranchi.
The I-T department has effected the country's highest-every cash seizure of Rs 351 crore by any agency in a single operation after the five-day counting ended on Sunday. About 3 kg of gold jewellery was also seized by the department, they said.
A huge pile of cash has been recovered so far in the searches conducted by the Income Tax department against Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Private Limited and entities linked to it. Premises linked to Sahu were also covered as part of the searches, according to officials.
Role of Hawala Operators
The role of hawala operators and shell companies that were allegedly used to channel the "illicit" funds has also come under the scanner, official sources said. An interim report on the action has also been sent by the field investigation wing of the income tax department to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in Delhi, the administrative body for the department. The searches that began against the Bhubaneswar-headquartered Boudh Distillery Pvt. Ltd. (BDPL) continued at about seven locations.
The Congress MP's house which has 40 rooms was searched thoroughly. In a video, a fleet of vehicles, including luxury brands, which are parked inside his house are also visible.
