Jharia, Jharkhand:
In what is being held as the largest cash seizure ever made in the country, sleuths of the Income Tax (I-T) department recovered Rs 70 crore during a raid on Wednesday at the residence of a coal mafia in Jharia town of Jharkhand.
I-T officials swooped down at the house of Lal Babu Singh early in the morning. The raids continued through the day, including at a branch of Bank of India where the cash was recovered along with other incriminating documents.
Sources in the I-T department said they had pieced together evidence against Mr Singh who is alleged to be involved in the coal scam in connivance with officials of the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"A shortage of 1 lakh tonne of coal was reported from BCCL last year", an official said.
I-T sources further pointed out that Mr Singh was operating bank accounts even in the name of his servants. He had also opened his bank account without the mandatory PAN number, nor had he filed his income tax returns.