Marathon I-T Raids Against Distillery Group Conclude In Odisha With Huge Gold Seizure After Record Cash Haul

Balangir: Income tax officials concluded their marathon raids against an Odisha-based distillery group, owned by Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu’s family, on Tuesday after a record cash haul of around Rs 353 crore and huge gold seizure.

The Income Tax officials and CISF personnel left Balangir as the raids ended after almost a week. As many as 30-34 premises in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal were searched, officials said. However, the raids are stated to be continuing in Ranchi.

The cash seizure made during the searches was the “highest-ever” haul in a single action by any probe agency in the country, official sources said.

The I-T sleuths, who left Sudapada liquor manufacturing unit after rigorous raids for six days, grilled two managers of the unit at an undisclosed location, sources said.

Apart from cash haul, there have been reports of over 17 kgs of gold being seized in the I-T raids at locations linked to the Congress MP from Jharkhand.

The I-T sleuths also searched some bank lockers and recovered a huge quantity of gold. There is information that 17 kilos of gold had been found. There is information about checking some more lockers on Tuesday.

During the raids, huge sums of money, estimated to be worth Rs 280 crore, were allegedly discovered solely at Dhiraj Sahu’s Balangir location. These seizures were in addition to the large sums discovered during the operation on Sunday, which was linked to properties associated with the Rajya Sabha MP.

The Income Tax investigation extended to Boudh Distilleries Private Limited’s premises, part of which is Baldev Sahu Infra Pvt Ltd, reportedly linked to Sahu. Raids were conducted as part of the ongoing crackdown by the central agency, which spanned over five days.

The huge cash haul has triggered a political uproar, with BJP leaders launching a scathing attack on the Congress. BJP leaders in Odisha targeted both Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress over the issue.

Congress leaders, on their part, distanced themselves from Sahu, asserting that the onus lies on him to explain the discovered cash. Congress MP KC Venugopal clarified that the party had no involvement, emphasising that Sahu must provide an explanation for the seized money.