Odisha I-T raids: Rs 200 crore in cash recovered as counting on
Bhubaneswar, Dec 8: "Unaccounted" cash amounting to around Rs 250 crore is expected to be recovered through searches being conducted by the income-tax department against a Odisha-based distillery group and entities linked to it, official sources said on Friday.
The raids launched against Boudh Distillery Private Limited on Wednesday are still continuing and cash amounting to more than Rs 200 crore has so far been recovered. The total recovery could be around Rs 250 crore, the sources said.
Three dozen counting machines have been deployed by the tax department. Since the machines are of a limited capacity, the counting is progressing at a slow pace, the sources added.
Premises linked to the Congress's Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, were also covered during the searches, the sources said.
An e-mail sent by PTI to the distillery group on Thursday elicited no response.
Officials said cash amounting to Rs 200 crore, stashed in almirahs, was recovered from a premises of the distillery group in Balangir district, while the remaining amount was found from other locations, such as Sambalpur and Sundargarh in Odisha, Bokaro and Ranchi in Jharkhand and Kolkata.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tagged a news report about the I-T department recovering Rs 200 crore in cash from various locations of a business group allegedly linked to Sahu, as he attacked the opposition party.
"Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the addresses of its (Congress) leaders on honesty. Every penny looted from people will have to be returned. This is Modi's guarantee," he said in a post with several emojis.
Sahu's staff expressed their inability to get a comment from the MP when PTI called on his phone for a reaction to the I-T department's action.
The sources said the taxman acted on "inputs" of a huge amount of cash being remitted by liquor distributors, sellers and business groups and hence, the raids were launched.
देशवासी इन नोटों के ढेर को देखें और फिर इनके नेताओं के ईमानदारी के 'भाषणों' को सुनें... 😂😂😂
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 8, 2023
जनता से जो लूटा है, उसकी पाई-पाई लौटानी पड़ेगी, यह मोदी की गारंटी है।
❌❌❌💵 💵 💵❌❌❌ pic.twitter.com/O2pEA4QTOj
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Fake IAS officer among 5 held at Indo-Nepal border attempting to cross sides
Bahraich (UP) (PTI): Five persons, including a man posing as an IAS officer, were arrested by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) at the India-Nepal Rupaideha border in Bahraich district while allegedly attempting to enter the neighbouring country in a vehicle that had a red-blue beacon and hooter, police said on Monday.
Circle Officer of Nanpara, Pahup Kumar Singh, told reporters that the incident occurred around 7.30 pm on Sunday when an Innova Crysta with a Uttar Pradesh registration plate and flashing beacon was stopped by SSB personnel at the border during routine checks.
During questioning, one of the occupants identified himself as Dharmendra and claimed to be an IAS officer posted at the Lucknow Secretariat.
However, the SSB, Rupaideha police and other security agencies conducted a detailed inquiry and found that none of them was an IAS officer, nor were they authorised to use a red-blue beacon, the officer said.
The vehicle was registered in Lucknow in the name of a firm, Priya Agencies, owned by the wife of the accused Dharmendra, he added.
The arrested persons were identified as Dharmendra Singh, Shubham Bajpai, Anmol Singh, Sachin Singh and Swapnal Sahay, all residents of Lucknow.
During interrogation, they admitted they were heading to casinos in Nepal to gamble.
Police recovered Rs 2.17 lakh in cash, six mobile phones, an electronic chip device and a power bank from their possession. A case has been registered against them under Section 319 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and further investigation is underway, Singh said.
