I-T Raids Continue For 4th Day On Odisha Ex-Minister Naba Das’ Brother Braja Das

Bhubaneswar: Income Tax (I-T) department officials continued their raid for the fourth day on Monday at properties linked to Braja Kishore Das, a super-class contractor and brother of former Health Minister Naba Kishore Das, at multiple locations across Odisha.

As per sources, simultaneous searches are underway at around 44 places, including Braja’s residence at Dhankauda in Sambalpur. Raids are also in progress at several locations in Jharsuguda, Balangir, Bargarh, and Bhubaneswar since Friday.

The search operation is being coordinated by 20 joint teams from Bhubaneswar and Chhattisgarh amid tight security.

As per reports, Braja owns a construction firm, a transport company, mines, and stone quarries and is engaged in house construction works.

While the exact reason behind the prolonged raids is unclear, Braja had come under I-T scanner earlier too. Senior officials from New Delhi assisted by I-T officials from Rourkela, Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur had conducted raids on his house and office in 2017 after the demonetisation process.

It may be noted that  Naba Das’ son Bishal Das was recently detained by police in Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund district along with sarpanches, samiti members and his supporters ahead of the no-confidence vote against the Kirmira block chairman.