In a shocking development that has stormed social media as well, cash worth around Rs 150 crore linked to a senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) has been recovered in the raids conducted by the Income Tax (IT) department on several locations in Odisha and Jharkhand on Friday, December 08. The raids on the said locations have been going on since Wednesday, December 6, 2023, and are still reported to be underway.
More than eight machines for counting the currencies have been used so far, some of which reportedly stopped working on Wednesday night due to overuse. According to the details, the raids were carried out by a team of a total of 30 officials of the IT department who raided premises linked to the senior Congress leader in Boudh, Bolangir, Titligarh, Sundargarh, Bhuvneshwar, Rourkela and Samabalpur. The tax department also conducted raids at the residences of Dheeraj Sahu in Lohardaga and Ranchi.
It’s been reported that the officials of the agency will continue to probe further in the premises of the Boudh Distillery Private Limited (BDPL) in Bolangir, Odisha, from where a huge amount of cash was recovered. It has been further reported that more than 150 packets containing significant amounts of currency were taken to State Bank of India (SBI) Bolangir branch. It is to be noted that BDPL is a partner firm of the Lohardaga-based Baldev Sahu and groups of companies.
After the recovery of the cash, which was stashed in as many as nine Almirahs, the IT department extended their search to various locations, including the corporate office of BDPL in Bhuvneshwar. The IT department also raided the residences of company officials and the office premises of the company in Ramchitaka and Ranisati rice mills, along with freezing the accounts of the company, according to the reports.
This is not the bank’s strong room; it’s Congress MP Dheeraj Sahu’s office, from where Rs 200 Crore cash was recovered during an Income Tax Department raid. While counting the money, two counting machines broke down, and 157 bags were used to transfer the cash into trucks. pic.twitter.com/MSRZk3Ebpc
— Gagandeep Singh (@Gagan4344) December 8, 2023
Who is Dheeraj Sahu
Dheeraj Sahu, considered among the senior leaders of the Congress party from Jharkhand. Sahu was first elected to the upper house in 2009. He was re-elected for a second term in 2010 and was elected again in 2018. He had also contested the Lok Sabha election on a Congress ticket a couple of times from Jharkhand’s chatra, only to get defeated on both occasions. Sahu’s extended family has been involved in the country liquor business for around four decades and owned many alchohal manufacturing factories in Odisha.
PM takes dig At Congress
Joining the netizens over the buzz around the recovery made by the IT department on X, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi while sharing a paper cutting of the raid on Friday, December 8 said that “those who have looted the people will have to return it, this is the guarantee of Modi.”
देशवासी इन नोटों के ढेर को देखें और फिर इनके नेताओं के ईमानदारी के 'भाषणों' को सुनें… 😂😂😂
जनता से जो लूटा है, उसकी पाई-पाई लौटानी पड़ेगी, यह मोदी की गारंटी है।
❌❌❌💵 💵 💵❌❌❌ pic.twitter.com/O2pEA4QTOj
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 8, 2023
“The countrymen should look at these bundles of notes again and again, then they should listen to the speeches of their leaders on honesty, tweeted the PM further while adding a few smileys to the tweet.
Meanwhile, endorsing the PM’s comment, former Chief Minister and BJP president of Jharkhand, Babulal Marandi in a tweet that the guarantee of PM Modi is dependable……Will neither eat nor let anybody eat…..Na Khayenge Na khane Denge. Those who have filled their safes by looting the masses will have to return penny by penny.
भरोसेमंद है मोदी की गारंटी…ना खाएंगे, ना खाने देंगे!
जनता के हक को लूटकर अपनी तिजोरी भरने वाले लोगों को पाई-पाई लौटानी ही होगी l https://t.co/fwNaPFNphf pic.twitter.com/bfdBA6HnCG
— Babulal Marandi (@yourBabulal) December 8, 2023
Demands of ED’s probe
The huge recovery of the cash has also led to the demands of Enforcement Directorate probe into the whole matter. If sources are to be believed, the ED can also commence its probe given the quantity of recovery made by the IT department. As of now, it’s been learned that the counting of all the cash seized so far will take another two days.
