New Delhi:
Fifty bank officials, 40 counting machines, and five days of tireless counting have culminated in a staggering outcome: Rs 353.5 crore cash seizure from an Odisha-based distillery owned by a Congress MP’s family. This unprecedented haul marks the largest single seizure ever made by any investigative agency in India, shattering all the previous records.
Premises linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, in Ranchi and other places, were covered during the searches by the income tax department.
In Odisha, counting of the cash is almost complet, income tax officials said. Balangir district witnessed the most significant recovery, with approximately Rs 305 crore unearthed. Sambalpur and Titlagarh followed with Rs 37.5 crore and Rs 11 crore respectively.
Following official procedures, the Income Tax department will be depositing all cash seized in recent raids at the main branch of State Bank of India (SBI) in Balangir on Monday. The SBI regional manager has confirmed that the bank will continue to operate normally for the public during this process.
SBI regional manager, Bhagat Behera, offered an update on the ongoing count of cash seized in recent raids. He revealed that the teams have processed 140 out of the 176 bags, with the remaining 36 scheduled for counting on Monday.