
In a historic operation, the Income Tax department is poised to achieve a record-breaking cash seizure of Rs 290 crore following raids on an Odisha-based distillery group and its associated entities. This marks the "highest-ever" black money haul in a single operation by any agency, according to official sources cited by PTI on Saturday.
The tax department has deployed approximately 40 large and small counting machines and enlisted additional personnel from both the department and banks to expedite the counting process. The operation was initiated on December 6 during raids on Boudh Distillery Pvt Ltd and other connected entities.
To facilitate the transport of the seized cash to government banks in the state, the department has increased its fleet with additional vehicles. Premises linked to Congress' Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, were also covered as part of the searches, PTI quoted sources as saying.
Despite concerted efforts to elicit a response from MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu and an email sent by PTI to the distillery group, there has been no official communication. Tax officials are actively recording statements from various corporate leaders and individuals involved in the operation. The meticulous counting of cash is scheduled to conclude by Saturday, with the total seizure expected to surpass Rs 290 crore, according to PTI reports.
With over Rs 250 crore already seized, the cash is being deposited in government bank branches in Odisha, primarily in the form of Rs 500 denomination notes. This unparalleled cash seizure stands as the highest-ever made by an agency in the country against a single group and its connected entities, as affirmed by official sources.
Nearly Rs 230 crore was recovered from 8-10 almirahs at the company's Bolangir district headquarters, with the balance seized from sites in Titlagarh, Sambalpur, and Ranchi. The operations were carried out in response to "actionable intelligence" about massive "out of book" sales and cash remittances by spirits wholesalers, sellers and business organisations.
Acknowledging the magnitude of the operation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commented on Friday, stating, "Countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the honest 'speeches' of their leaders....Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned; this is Modi's guarantee."
With PTI inputs