I-T dept expedites counting of cash; slugfest escalates

The Income Tax department has deployed additional machines and manpower to expedite the counting of currency notes seized during its raids in three states on properties of an Odisha-based distillery group linked to the family of Congress lawmaker Dheeraj Sahu, people aware of the matter said on Saturday, even as political row escalated a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Opposition over corruption. Currency notes worth ₹ 300 crore have been counted so far, with I-T officials expecting the total seizure to go past ₹ 350 crore.

- Debabrata Mohanty

The raids at premises linked to Boudh Distillery Private Limited, which is based in Boudh district of Odisha, began in the state, Jharkhand and West Bengal on Wednesday and continued on Saturday. The company is linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dheeraj Sahu, whose son Ritesh Sahu is the managing director, while elder brother Uday Shanker Prasad is the chairman of the company that manufactures extra neutral alcohol a primary raw material for making alcoholic beverages.

On Saturday, I-T sleuths conducted searches at the residence of liquor trader Raj Kishore Jaiswal, alleged to be close to Sahu.

The raids have been initiated following "actionable intelligence" regarding significant "out of book" sales and cash remittances by liquor distributors, sellers, and business groups, the agency had said earlier.