Bhubaneswar Shocker! Rs 3 cr Cash Seized from PSO of High-Profile Political Figure.

BHUBANESWAR: In a major crackdown, Income Tax department officials on Monday evening seized a whopping Rs 3 crore in cash from the close confidante of an influential political leader in the city.

Acting on a tip-off, the IT officials stopped the car of the political leader in the evening and recovered the huge amount of cash. Sources said the political leader was not travelling when the raids took place. Unconfirmed sources said the cash was recovered from the personal security officer (PSO) of the political leader when he was travelling in his car. The IT officials suspect the cash belongs to the leader for which raids were later conducted in his house in the city to ascertain if he has stashed more money.

Earlier, the IT department seized Rs 1 crore cash from a city based real estate firm Stalwarts Projects. The firm’s proprietor Sharat Kumar Sahu was unable to give a satisfactory response about the source of the cash. Sources said IT department officials are investigating whether the cash was supposed to be distributed during elections or it was accumulated by evading payment of taxes.

In another development, flying squad stopped the car of a lady political leader in Adenigarh area within Purunakatak police limits in Boudh district on Monday and seized Rs 10 lakh cash. The IT officials were alerted about the cash movement in Boudh district. It has also launched an investigation into the seizure of over Rs 10 lakh cash each from Rourkela and Jharsuguda in the last two days.

“A close vigil is being kept on illegal movement of cash ahead of elections. Information is also being collected to ascertain if anyone has stashed cash possibly to use it during the polls,” said IT sources.

In another development, the Income Tax department seized Rs 1 crore from city-based real estate firm Stalwart Projects.

The firm’s proprietor Sharat Kumar Sahu was not able to give a satisfactory response on the source of the cash. Sources said IT department officials are investigating whether the cash was supposed to be distributed during elections or was accumulated by evading taxes. In another development, a flying squad stopped the car of a woman political leader in Adenigarh area within Purunakatak police limits in Boudh district and seized Rs 10 lakh in cash. The IT department has been alerted about the seizure. Sources said the department has launched a probe into seizure of over Rs 10 lakh each from Rourkela and Jharsuguda in last two days.