TIO, New Delhi
An income tax raid was conducted at the Bihar Congress office in Patna on Thursday, reports say around Rs 8 lakh cash was recovered from a vehicle inside the campus.
The development comes just a day before former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address his first election rallies at Hisua in Nawada and Kahalgaon and Bhagalpur.
Congress Bihar in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters that an I-T team had come at the office and informed that few lakhs in cash had been recovered from a vehicle.
“We told the team how we could know whose vehicle had come at the state party office and what was inside it. Somebody can put anything inside a vehicle and come to our party office. We are nowhere responsible for it,” he told mediapersons.
Gohil termed the I-T search at the state party office politically motivated and a conspiracy by rivals to put pressure on the party because the grand alliance is all set to win the state assembly polls.
Sources said the I-T team that had arrived at the Sadaqat ashram at 4.30 pm spent a few hours at the state Congress office and talked to several leaders about the recovery of the cash. Party’s senior leaders, including AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, were present when the searches took place, source said.
I-T officials did not speak to the media and there was no official confirmation about the money recovered during the raid by the team. Sources said the special units of I-T officials have been formed to keep a tab on the flow of cash and other material during the ongoing election and they work under the supervision of special election observers.
The Chief Electoral officer, Bihar, HR Srinivasa could not be reached for comments, despite efforts made by HT.
