Rs 5.84 cr unaccounted cash seized in NE in 27 days

Guwahati: The Income Tax authorities have seized a total of Rs 5.84 crore in unaccounted cash in the Northeast in 27 days, an official release said here Wednesday.

This is around 482 per cent higher than Rs 1.21 crore seized during the 2014 general elections by the Directorate of Income Tax (Investigation), North Eastern region.

The amount, Rs 5.84 crore, has been seized between March 12 and April 8 and it is more than 50 per cent of the unaccounted cash seized during the entire financial year of 2017-18.

After the announcement of Lok Sabha elections, a drive was launched to counter the flow of black money during the elections and it will continue till April 23 when the polls will be completed in all the regional states.

Over 160 I-T sleuths were deployed at strategic locations across the region, including 12 airports, resulting in an all-time high cash seizure during any election period in the North East, the release said.

In a first, the Directorate has initiated probe into hundreds of suspicious cash deposits and withdrawals above Rs 10 lakh through banks across the North East.