I-T dept conducts raid at Boudh Distilleries in Odisha for 5th day in a row

BALANGIR: The Income Tax Department conducted raids at the premises of Boudh Distilleries Private Limited on Sunday.

With this, the raids by the central agency entered the fifth day in a row.

Baldev Sahu Infra Pvt Ltd company is a group company of Boudh Distilleries, which is covered in the search and is linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dheeraj Sahu.

CISF personnel were also deployed at the premises. Income Tax sleuths have recovered more than Rs 200 crore cash from several locations in Odisha and Jharkhand during their raids against Boudh Distilleries Private Limited (BDPL) and entities linked to it.

"The counting of cash, however, is still going on," an IT official said on Saturday.

Multiple raids were also conducted at Bolangir and Sambalpur in Odisha, whereas in Jharkhand, Ranchi, and Lohardaga raids were conducted.

Facing heat after crores of rupees were unearthed from premises linked to their Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu, Congress on Saturday said that the party is in no way connected with the businesses of the former and that the lawmaker from Jharkhand should explain the matter.

Taking to the social media platform, X, the Congress General Secretary (Communications), Jairam Ramesh said that only Dheeraj Sahu can explain the huge amounts of cash, reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties.

"The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dheeraj Sahu, MP. Only he can explain, and should explain, how huge amounts of cash have been reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties," the Congress leader wrote on X.

The residences of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu were also searched. The episode has provided fresh ammunition to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is leaving no stone unturned to attack the opposition Congress over the incident.

Union Minister Smriti Irani has questioned the grand old party and said that the Gandhi family must tell the country for which Congress leader, the Rajya Sabha MP, was working as an 'ATM'.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his X handle, tagging a news report about the I-T department recovering Rs 200 crore in cash from various locations of a business group allegedly linked to Sahu, took a swipe at the opposition party.

"Countrymen should look at these piles of currency notes and then hear the addresses of its (Congress) leaders on honesty. Every penny looted from people will have to be returned. This is Modi's guarantee," PM Modi said in a post with several emojis.