Income Tax raid concludes for Dhiraj Sahu: Rs 353 crore seized, resurfacing of MP's past tweet
Income Tax raid on Dhiraj Sahu: The controversy surrounding Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu escalated as the income tax department concluded the counting of unaccounted cash seized from premises associated with him. The total amount reached a staggering Rs 353 crore, making it the largest single-cash haul in the country from a single operation. The raid took place at locations linked to Boudh Distilleries Private Limited, spanning across Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
The counting process, which commenced on Wednesday, encountered delays as the State Bank of India (SBI) branch where the notes were being tallied had to continue its regular operations. Despite initial projections that the counting might take a day or two, it extended into the weekend, with the final tally revealing the massive sum involved.
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The spectacle unfolded at the SBI branch, which received 176 bags filled with cash. Three banks collaborated in the counting process, employing 40 currency counting machines. Challenges arose initially due to a shortage of machines, compounded by technical issues with the ones in operation.
The raid took a political turn as leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dug into Dhiraj Sahu's past tweets, specifically one where he criticized demonetization. BJP's Amit Malviya shared a screenshot of Sahu's old tweet, highlighting his dark sense of humor. In the tweet from 2022, Sahu expressed his distress at the persistence of corruption and black money in the country despite demonetisation.
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"I feel pained seeing so much corruption and black money in the country even after noteban. This is beyond my understanding how people can accumulate so much black money. Only Congress can uproot corruption from the party," read Dhiraj Prasad Sahu's tweet, now resurfaced amid the ongoing controversy.
The raid and subsequent cash seizure have fueled a major political debate, with the BJP leveraging Sahu's old tweet to underscore their criticism of Congress and its stance on demonetization. The fallout from this operation is likely to have ripple effects in the political landscape in the coming days.
- With inputs from agencies
