RANCHI, 

 

(PTI) THE Income Tax Department on Saturday conducted searches at multiple locations in poll-bound Jharkhand, including on the premises of a person linked to Chief Minister Hemant Soren, as part of a tax evasion probe, official sources said. A total of nine premises in the State’s capital Ranchi and Jamshedpur are being raided in an operation that started early morning. A security team of the CRPF is assisting the I-T sleuths, the sources said. The locations linked to Sunil Shrivastava, an aide to the Chief Minister, are also being searched, they said.

 

 The action is linked to recent probes launched by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over alleged illegal liquor trade and mining in the State, the sources said. The Assembly elections are scheduled for November 13 and 20, and the counting of votes to be taken on November 23. Reacting to the Income Tax raids, Hemant Soren said that a cadre of the BJP has emerged in the area however, he also said that there is no problem in it and they will handle the situation. “Raids have started, a new cadre of BJP has emerged in the area. No problem, we will see it,” said CM Soren. Earlier, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat questioned the timings of the raid as the polling date for the state assembly nears and said that the Election Commission should stop such things. She further alleged that the BJP has become “helpless” which is why they are bringing ED and CBI. Reacting to the I-T searches, the State Congress said this is not new for Jharkhand.