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BHUBANESHWAR: Excise authorities initiated an investigation into the liquor business associated with Jharkhand Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu, while the income tax department reported cash seizures amounting to Rs 340 crore from his factories in Odisha, offices, and other properties.
The money pile was so large that over 50 bank employees used 40 machines for five days to count the banknotes seized from factories in Balangir, Titlagarh and Sambalpur.
The political blame game escalated following the cash seizure, with BJP staging protests across Odisha. BJP state secretary Tankadhar Tripathy alleged that the Congress MP’s liquor business wouldn’t have thrived without the protection of the governing BJD in the state.
In response, BJD accused the BJP leaders of trying to defame the state with false and concocted statements. BJD spokespersons Lenin Mohanty and Sofia Alam alleged a secret understanding between the state unit of Congress and Odisha BJP. They said the BJP’s central leadership is condemning Congress over the cash haul, but Odisha BJP is providing misleading statements to protect Congress in the state.
The I-T department has deposited Rs 284 crore in an SBI branch in Balangir, Rs 37.5 crore in Sambalpur, and Rs 11 crore in Titlagarh so far. “More cash is being counted,” a source said, underscoring that the final count would go up as more money has been confiscated in Sundargarh and the searches have not concluded yet.
The officials also discovered a locker linked to the Sahu family in an Axis Bank branch in Titilagarh and seized gold ornaments. In Ranchi, I-T officials inspected Sahu’s bungalow.
The Sahu-linked distilleries produce liquor from “mohua” flowers in in 22 of the 30 districts of Odisha. The excise department is focusing on verifying whether the liquor firms associated with Sahu adhered to the terms and conditions of their licences, including the minimum guaranteed quantity they were permitted to produce.
Excise commissioner Narasingha Bhol confirmed ongoing inspections of various country liquor manufacturing sites. “Apart from the liquor units facing income tax checks, various other units are also being inspected,” he said.(With inputs from Ritesh Sharma in Jharsuguda)
The money pile was so large that over 50 bank employees used 40 machines for five days to count the banknotes seized from factories in Balangir, Titlagarh and Sambalpur.
The political blame game escalated following the cash seizure, with BJP staging protests across Odisha. BJP state secretary Tankadhar Tripathy alleged that the Congress MP’s liquor business wouldn’t have thrived without the protection of the governing BJD in the state.
In response, BJD accused the BJP leaders of trying to defame the state with false and concocted statements. BJD spokespersons Lenin Mohanty and Sofia Alam alleged a secret understanding between the state unit of Congress and Odisha BJP. They said the BJP’s central leadership is condemning Congress over the cash haul, but Odisha BJP is providing misleading statements to protect Congress in the state.
The I-T department has deposited Rs 284 crore in an SBI branch in Balangir, Rs 37.5 crore in Sambalpur, and Rs 11 crore in Titlagarh so far. “More cash is being counted,” a source said, underscoring that the final count would go up as more money has been confiscated in Sundargarh and the searches have not concluded yet.
The officials also discovered a locker linked to the Sahu family in an Axis Bank branch in Titilagarh and seized gold ornaments. In Ranchi, I-T officials inspected Sahu’s bungalow.
The Sahu-linked distilleries produce liquor from “mohua” flowers in in 22 of the 30 districts of Odisha. The excise department is focusing on verifying whether the liquor firms associated with Sahu adhered to the terms and conditions of their licences, including the minimum guaranteed quantity they were permitted to produce.
Excise commissioner Narasingha Bhol confirmed ongoing inspections of various country liquor manufacturing sites. “Apart from the liquor units facing income tax checks, various other units are also being inspected,” he said.(With inputs from Ritesh Sharma in Jharsuguda)
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