New Delhi: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has urged the students of the Indian Institute of Technology in Dhanbad to invent a machine that can count cash faster, referring to the recent operation by the authorities where over Rs 351 crore in black money was unearthed from Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu at his Odisha and Jharkhand properties, last week.
Dhankhar was speaking during the IIT Dhanbad convocation on Monday morning when he made the request.
So far, authorities have recovered Rs 351 crore in cash from the properties, hidden in almirahs and across other hiding spaces. The sheer number of notes to be counted has come as a surprise to the department which has pressed an entire regiment to complete the exercise.
Nine teams of about 80 people from various banks and tax departments have been working day and night to complete the counting. The raid involved a whopping 200 officials — including security personnel, drivers and other staff. The officials have finished counting 140 bags of cash out of a total of 176 which they describe as the “highest-ever” black money haul by any agency in a single operation.
Earlier, it was reported that the process would be complete by Sunday but as of Monday, the counting was still underway.
“Power corridors have been neutralised by corrupt elements. Earlier, people thought that they were above the law, and therefore it would not reach them. Nobody can escape the law now,” Dhankhar added.