Odisha: IT raid real estate major DN group, recovers 30 Cr unaccounted cash

In the morning, 15 I-T sleuths stormed Panda"s home in the presence of local police. The sleuths claimed to have recovered four suitcases containing Rs 30 crore and bank passbooks belonging to the real estate company during the raid. According to sources, other documents have also been confiscated for review by IT officials.

NewsBharati    10-Jul-2023 16:33:48 PM
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On Wednesday, the Income Tax (I-T) Department conducted simultaneous searches at 20 locations around the state, including the Capital City, in connection with real estate company DN Group on suspicions of tax evasion.
 
IT Raids
 
According to sources familiar with the situation, I-T agents raided DN Group's headquarters and the homes of its founder and managing director Jagadish Prasad Naik and workers here for alleged tax evasion. "The sleuths recovered Rs 30 crore in cash from the rented accommodation of Chandrasekhar Panda, a real estate company employee, at Postal-BSNL Colony in the City's Unit IV area." Panda's father, a retired BSNL employee, has been living nearby, according to sources.
 
In the morning, 15 I-T sleuths stormed Panda's home in the presence of local police. The sleuths claimed to have recovered four suitcases containing Rs 30 crore and bank passbooks belonging to the real estate company during the raid. According to sources, other documents have also been confiscated for review by IT officials.
 
However, there has been no formal notification from the I-T Department on the different raids that are taking place. According to sources, the I-T raids will continue for another two or three days. According to sources, many heavyweights have invested in the real estate enterprise.
 
The group is a major corporate conglomerate in Odisha, and it controls a lot of housing developments and shopping malls in various areas.

‘Bjp & Congress Targets Odisha Cmo Naveen Patnaik Over Corruption of Dn Group’

 
 
 
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal took aim at the state government. "Who is the driving force behind DN Group's success?" "How corrupt and close to the CMO are those with black money?" Biswal inquired.
 
Anil Biswal, further said at a press conference that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had joined a business-related function of Naik a few months ago. Naik has also travelled to Japan with the chief minister on business.
 
Anil Biswal claimed that the money discovered during the DN Group raids belonged to BJD leaders and MLAs.
 
"Through this real estate business, a non-Odia IAS officer's black money is legitimised." This company also served as a conduit for money laundering for BJD officials and MLAs. "There is a close relationship between the company's owner, Jagadish Naik, and the CMO," Biswal claimed.
 
People now assume that the ruling BJD was hoarding the illicit money and legitimising it through the real estate company, according to Odisha BJP General Secretary Prithviraj Harichandan.
 
According to the NCRB survey, Odisha is one of the most corrupt states in the country, according to Biswal. In 2019, the state had the largest number of disproportionate asset cases in the country, with 88. According to the BJP leader, the number of such cases reported in 2020 and 2021 was 93 and 92, respectively, which was likewise the highest in the country.
 
The value of disproportionate assets seized in 2021 was to the tune of Rs 107 crore which increased to Rs 174 crore in 2022 and this may cross Rs 250 crore during 2023. “This clearly demonstrated that loot of public in the state is rampant despite ‘zero tolerance towards corruption’ claim of the chief minister,” Biswal said. Attributing the rise in corruption to low conviction rate in the state, he said out of 245 cases filed in 2020, chargesheets have been filed only in eight cases. In 2021, out of 265 cases registered chargesheets were filed in only 10.
 
Santosh Singh Saluja, a Congress MLA in Odisha, also blasted the ruling party."Whose cash is this?" Who owns these millions of dollars? People now feel that the Biju Janata Dal politicians were investing their money in this real estate company and saving it for electoral purposes," said Saluja, who demanded an impartial investigation to find the officers and political figures who were stealing public money.
 
BJD leader Bhagirathi Sethi dismissed the BJP and Congress' charges, saying the party has nothing to do with the IT raids or the real estate firm. "The Chief Minister will not protect anyone involved in such acts." "The law will run its course," he added.
 
‘105 Crore Money Transactions Unearthed, ED to Launch Probe’
 
On the other hand, IT department personnel allegedly seized money receipts for DN Group financial transactions of Rs 105 crore today. While money revenues for flats were Rs 80 crore, money receipts for other transactions totaled Rs 25 crore.
 
On the other hand, Enforcement Directorate (ED) will probe into the illegal financial transaction of the company.