A liquor baron and Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dheeraj Prasad Sahu, shot into national infamy following a recovery of more than Rs 351 Crore cash and 17 kg gold from different locations, promoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to quip him as the key character of Congress money heist.
A trained hunter of his time known for perfect shooting, the tax department and other anti-money money federal agencies are chasing his treasure troves. So far, this is the biggest cash and bullion haul made in the country's history, and the tax enforcement bosses believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg of the hidden treasure troves of the extended family of Dheeraj Sahu.
“Raids are still going on. All these recoveries have been made from his business and industrial premises in Odisha. His house in Ranchi is being searched. We need to dig deep to expose the coffer of corruption; this will be a tough task. Let’s investigation takes place to ascertain the source of the money,” a senior law enforcement officer confided.
The IT department has now deployed a Surveillance System machine at the Ranchi residence of the MP to search for jewellery and other items that may be potentially hidden in the soil. Besides the liquor business, the family owns a hotel in Ranchi, cold storage, and a Maruti showroom.
When Dheeraj Sahu performed Maun Vrata for the good health of Sonia Gandhi
What troubles the Congress is that Sahu has always flaunted his so-called good relationship with the Gandhi family (Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi), and the BJP picked this good enough stick to beat the Congress.
Initially, Congress tried defending that the cash was not linked to corruption and tax evasion as the Sahu family has been in the liquor business for more than sixty years. Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur claimed that Dheeraj Sahu and the family are ‘Khandani Ameer’; this was the money they earned over the generations. Some of his faithful even termed Sahus as direct descendants of Kuber, the God of wealth. Such a huge recovery has pushed the central and state leadership of the Congress on the back foot as the BJP is aggressively projecting Sahu as the latest poster boy of the Congress’s corruption.
It is widely claimed that Sahu has been in Gandhi's good books, and he is one of the financial mainstays of Congress. His elder brother Shiv Prasad Sahu was twice elected Congress MP from Ranchi in 1980 and 1984. Shiv Prasad Sahu is said to have enjoyed good relations with Indira Gandhi and generously contributed to the PM relief fund during the Indo-Pak war in 1972. Even Indira Gandhi had visited their residence in Lohardaga.
But a senior Congress leader termed these as concocted stories. “Sahu family has created this narrative to maintain its clout in business and politics. Shiv Prasad Sahu neither donated to the PM Relief Fund nor did Indiraji visit his house. Dheeraj Sahu has no close connection with the Gandhis and is also very tightfisted. They are liquor baron and have controlled the liquor business of undivided Bihar and Odisha for at least the last six decades. They have a significant presence in Chhattisgarh also,” said the leader.
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