The Income Tax raids on the liquor empire of Jharkhand MP Dhiraj Sahu have entered the 6th day today. The biggest cash haul was found in Odisha’s Balangir, in a Bhatti (liquor manufacturing unit) in Balangir, Odisha. Cash was loaded in 176 bags and brought to the main SBI branch in the city where counting was going on for 5 days. Even after the initial haul, raids are still ongoing on several office and factory premises of Baldev Sahu and Sons Ltd, and on the residences of the company’s owners.
Balangir is a town in the western part of Odisha. Most people in India had probably never heard of its name until news flashed that over 300 crores in cash have been seized from a liquor manufacturing unit in this town. Those viral videos of almirahs full of currency notes are from the office of Baldev Sahu and Sons Ltd located in Sudpada, Balangir.
Income Tax dept raids on liquor manufacturing unit at Sudapada in #Bolangir district continue for sixth day #Odisha pic.twitter.com/HZSZxN7eLO
— OTV (@otvnews) December 11, 2023
The viral videos of people busy counting currency seen on social media and TV news are not from Jharkhand but from Balangir. While Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu is from Jharkhand, and the raids include his Lohardaga and Ranchi properties, it is notable here that most of the cash has been seized not from Jharkhand, but from towns in Western Odisha like Balangir, Sambalpur, and Titilagarh.
One of the companies raided by the I-T department was Boudh Distilleries Pvt Ltd. Balangir’s Baldev Sahu and Sons Pvt Ltd was in a partnership with BDPL. As per reports, S Shiw Ganga and Company, BDPL, Baldev Sahu Infra Private Limited, Kwality Bottlers Private Limited (IMFL Botting), Kishore Prasad Vijay Prasad Beverages Private Limited, and other such companies are all linked with Dhiraj Sahu, who hails from Lohardaga in Jharkhand.
Boudh is a tribal-dominated district in central Odisha. Dhiraj Sahu’s son Ritesh Sahu is the MD of Boudh Distilleries Pvt Ltd, while his elder brother Uday Shankar Prasad is the chairman.
The Congress MP from Jharkhand has a multi-billion liquor empire spread across several districts of Odisha. Now that the shocking amount of cash seized has jolted the I-T officials and the public in general to the enormity of the liquor empire, there are questions rising on Odisha’s ruling party.
“Can a Jharkhand businessman-turned-politician operate such a vast liquor business without active political patronage from ruling party politicians in Odisha”?
This question is slowly heating up Odisha politics as visuals of unprecedented amounts of cash, almirahs full of currency notes and bank branches running out of cash-counting machines dominate the news space.
BJP MP from Sundargarh, Kusum Tete, has been openly saying that the liquor empire spread across Odisha has links to local BJD leaders. She stated that she has raised the issue several times in the assembly, but the BJD government has not paid heed to her concerns.
Naming BJD’s former MLA Jogesh Singh, Kusum Tete stated that he has links to Dhiraj Sahu’s liquor empire. Tete stated that the liquor manufacturing units were earlier registered in the name of Singh’s mother. Tete stated that she has raised the issue several times in the assembly but the government took no action.
I-T raids in #Sundargarh | MLA Kusum Tete brings serious allegations against former legislator Jogesh Singh; says, "The liquor manufacturing unit was registered in the name of Singh's mother. The name might have changed now. I have raised the issue in the Assembly on several… pic.twitter.com/yrhMvezp1O
— OTV (@otvnews) December 7, 2023
MP from Jharkhand, liquor empire working in several districts of Odisha
The largest amount of cash was found from the liquor manufacturing units of Baldev Sahu and Sons, in Sudpada, Balangir, a town in Western Odisha. As of 10th December, the SBI branch in Balangir declared that all the 176 bags of cash brought from the premises of Baldev Sahu and Sons were counted. This counting took 5 days, and involved dozens of bank staff, and counting machines. Reports in Odisha have stated that the total amount of cash seized from Odisha is over 400 crores and nearly 60 kgs of gold.
2 more liquor traders, reportedly the relatives of Dhiraj Sahu, named Deepak Sahu and Sanjay Sahu, were raided in Titilagarh, a town in Balangir district. I-T seized 11 crores of cash from the premises of the Sahu brothers. Raids at the Sambalpur unit of the company found 37.5 crores.
The political implications of the case were hinted at by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Odisha yesterday. Without taking names, he stated that the money has been looted from the poor people from Odisha and Modi government will ensure that the powerful people linked with the ‘family business’ of the Congress leader (Dhiraj Sahu), will have to answer before the public of Odisha.
#ଯିଏ_ଓଡି଼ଆଙ୍କ_ଟଙ୍କା_ଲୁଟିଛି_ସେ_ଜେଲ_ଯିବ
— Kanak News (@kanak_news) December 10, 2023
କଳାଟଙ୍କାକୁ ନେଇ ପୁଣି ବର୍ଷିଲେ କେନ୍ଦ୍ରମନ୍ତ୍ରୀ ଧର୍ମେନ୍ଦ୍ର ପ୍ରଧାନ । କାହା ନାଁ ନନେଇ କହିଲେ, ଓଡିଶାବାସୀଙ୍କ ଟଙ୍କାକୁ ଯିଏ ଲୁଟିଛି ତାକୁ ଜେଲ ପଠାଯିବ । #DharmendraPradhan #Reaction #ITRaid #KanakNews pic.twitter.com/UA4ZOt927x
The BJP held a press conference in Bhubaneswar yesterday. State spokesperson Lekhashree Samantsinghar took names of senior leaders and ministers in the BJD government and stated that the Jharkhand MP Dhiraj Sahu is just the owner of the companies, but his liquor empire in Odisha was being ‘managed’ by the ruling BJD.
“Jharkhand Congress MP is only the owner of the company. BJD govt was managing it in Odisha. What was the Vigilance, Crime Branch, Excise, EOW doing when the company was amassing such wealth, and how the state govt had no information about it? This liquor business is the source of money for BJD during elections”, she stated.
I-T raids in #Odisha | BJP alleges involvement of BJD leaders and Odisha govt
— OTV (@otvnews) December 9, 2023
Taking the names of Minister Tukuni Sahu, Niranjan Pujari, Pradip Amat and Jogesh Singh, BJP's Lekhashree Samantsinghar says, "Jharkhand Congress MP is only the owner of the company. BJD govt was… pic.twitter.com/tujY8BCQ4O
Meanwhile, local news channels in Odisha are abuzz with political whispers and concerns from the public. Claiming that the liquor empire money was a major source of political funding in the state, some have alleged that the Odisha government has not issued fresh tenders for liquor outlets in the last 25 years. Some select traders have been getting renewed licenses every year. Allegations have been raised that the Naveen Patnaik government’s liquor policy has been designed to favor the manufacturers of country liquor, because the money from these businesses funds the ruling party.
The names of several BJD leaders are being cited in links with the Sahu brothers. The names of Ministers Tukuni Sahu (Titilagarh), Niranjan Pujari (Sonepur), Rajendra Dholakia (Nuapada) and Pradip Amat (Boudh) are being cited by BJP and many local news outlets as the alleged benefactors of the massive liquor trade and country liquor manufacturing units flourishing across the state. Odia channel Argus News reported that the liquor traders were regularly paying the BJD leaders and were supplying vehicles, cash, and liquor during the election campaigns of these leaders.
The BJP, meanwhile, has stated that it will organize protests in every subdivision of the state and will demand answers from the BJD leaders. The I-T raids have reportedly also seized a ‘red diary’ from the premises of liquor traders that mentions the names of many government officials, politicians and powerful individuals who were in the payrolls of the liquor empire.
At the national level, PM Modi’s tweet stating that every paisa looted from the people will be accounted for had displayed the government’s intention that the political angles of the liquor trade are to be uncovered. The BJP has already started protests against the Congress. There are reports that the ED might start investigations into the case considering the massive amount of money and political links involved.
