New Delhi: Out of the Rs 351 crore cash seized by the Income Tax officials from the premises linked to Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu, Rs 329 crore was recovered from hidden chambers in dilapidated buildings in small towns of Odisha, officials said on Thursday.

Dhiraj Sahu is the Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand

The cash was kept hidden in chambers and a hidden safe-house camouflaged as an unoccupied or nondescript residence located in small towns of Odisha, including Sudapada and Titlagarh in Bolangir district and Khetrajrajpur in Sambalpur district, officials said in a statement.

The Income Tax Department conducted marathon search operations in Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal at premises of a liquor distillery and other properties linked to the Congress MP. The operation, which started on December 6, continued for more than one week and covered over 30 premises spread across 10 districts in the three states.

During the search operation, a large number of incriminating pieces of evidence in the form of documents and digital data have been found and seized, the Income Tax Department said.

More than 100 I-T officials were present during the raids and more than 40 machines were deployed to count the seized cash.

According to officials, the business of the group is “controlled by a family based in Ranchi in Jharkhand” and one of the family members is also a “politically exposed person residing in Ranchi”.

Dhiraj Sahu is the Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand.

The search-and-seizure operation continued for over a week, and over 100 I-T officials were involved.

“The main employees looking after the business activities of the group, have admitted that the cash found and seized during the search operation, represents the unaccounted income of the group, generated through its multiple business concerns. This was also corroborated by one of the family members who is actively involved in the business,” the statement read.

In total, the officials seized undisclosed cash amounting to more than Rs 351 crore and unaccounted jewellery exceeding Rs 2.8 crore.