After recovering more than Rs 354 crore of unexplained cash from the residences of an Odisha Congress MP, the Income Tax Department on Wednesday conducted raids in the premises of a former Trinamool Congress MLA and eight other related persons, source said.
Officials said that they also spoke to former TMC MLA Sohrab Ali and the other businessmen whose houses were raided, refusing to divulge whether they had recovered any document or hidden cash.
The raids were conducted in Asansol, Durgapur and Raniganj areas, as the businessmen did not pay taxes for several years, another officer alleged.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate investigating the ration scam has alleged in a charge-sheet filed against arrested State minister Jyotipriya Mallick that they had been able to trace till now a Rs 400 crore scam. The ED, which submitted documents running into more than 3,000 pages along with the charge sheet filed under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) , claimed that food grain worth at least Rs 400 crore had been sold in the market, an advocate said.
Mallick had personally gained Rs 36 crore thus far, the officials told the Calcutta High Court, adding this could just be the tip of the iceberg.
