More machines got to count cash; Congress says its MP should explain

The cash seized during the department’s raids at the distillery group and linked entities could amount to Rs 290 crore, making it the highest-ever haul by an agency in a single operation, official sources said Saturday. Sahu, who has been elected to Rajya Sabha thrice, did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment.

While 176 bags filled with cash have been brought to SBI’s Balangir branch over the past few days, cash inside roughly 100 bags has been counted so far. “We had deployed nine counting machines. Now, an additional 16 have been arranged to expedite the process. Around 40-50 staffers have been engaged,” said Bhagat Behera, the SBI regional manager at Balangir.

Technical experts from Sambalpur have been called in to repair malfunctioning machines.

According to sources in the I-T department, which has raided around 30 places linked to Baldeo Sahu and Group of Companies Ltd since December 6, the highest amount of cash recovered — in 156 bags — was from one of its manufacturing units at Sudapada in Balangir.

I-T personnel first raided BDPL on allegations of tax evasion and later searched the premises of Baldeo Sahu and Group of Companies Ltd. Subsequently, simultaneous raids were conducted in Titlagarh, Sambalpur, Sundargarh and Bhubaneswar in Odisha and in a few places in Jharkhand.

Also, a 20-member analysis team from the department reached Balangir town on Saturday from Hyderabad and visited the liquor manufacturing units in Balangir and Titlagarh for further investigation.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan raised concerns over the seizures: “Some people from Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand are reported to be related to this money. Where is the source of this benami wealth? What is the truth of the matter? Are some people of Odisha related to the seized black money? Why are some people who beat the drums of honesty silent on the raids?” Pradhan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Silence of leaders of some political parties who talk about ethics raises doubt in the minds of the people. People of the country including in Odisha now rely on ‘Modi ki Guarantee’. Corruption will not be allowed under the Modi government.”

The Odisha unit of the BJP questioned the silence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

On Thursday, highlighting the raids, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken a dig at Congress leaders: “The countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the ‘honest’ speeches of their leaders… Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modi’s guarantee.”

Son of industrialist and social worker Baldeo Sahu who, he says, was also involved in the Independence struggle, Dhiraj Sahu (64) started his political innings as a member of the Congress student wing National Students Union of India from 1978 to 1983. He climbed the party ladder, first as an office-bearer in the Lohardaga district and later with the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee.

He was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in a 2009 bypoll, and re-elected for his second term in 2010. He became a Rajya Sabha member for the third time in May 2018. He has also been associated with various parliamentary committees and continues to be a member of the Consultative Committee on Power and New and Renewable Energy, and a member of the Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel.

One of the questions he asked in the Rajya Sabha was on the stoppage of the Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express at Lohardaga, which affected thousands of passengers in nearby districts. Another question this year was on the welfare of labourers, who were allegedly exploited and forced to work in poor condition in the private sector. Last year, he put forward questions on accidental deaths in the production units of Steel Authority of India Ltd, mainly at its Bokaro Steel Plant. In 2019, he had asked a question on illegal mining of bauxite in Jharkhand.

A source close to him said Sahu’s family has been involved in multiple businesses besides liquor, including hotels, real estate, transportation and fisheries. He does not have any liquor businesses in Jharkhand, which sources say is due to his claims of the state’s “unethical business practices”.

According to his affidavit filed with the Election Commission in 2018, his annual earnings stood at around Rs 1 crore. He had four personal vehicles, including a BMW and a Range Rover. His wife owned 3.1 kilograms of gold valued then at Rs 94.5 lakh, and Sahu himself owned diamond jewellery valued at Rs 26.16 lakh at the time.

The affidavit also stated that Sahu had capital invested in Baldeo Sahu Shiv Prasad Sahu, a family-owned company, to the tune of Rs 2.5 crore and in Baldeo Sahu and Sons to the tune of Rs 2 crore, among others. He had also paid an advance of Rs 2.32 crore for a villa in Delhi.

The gross total value of his moveable assets stood at Rs 20.4 crore and of immovable assets, such as agricultural land and property, stood at Rs 14.43 crore, taking the total value of his assets to Rs 34.47 crore, at the time of filing his affidavit. His total liabilities, including home and car loans, stood at Rs 2.34 crore. He has no criminal cases against him.

Official sources said Sahu’s company got a licence in Odisha in 1994-95 and continued operations by renewing it every year.