New Delhi: Four days after the Hyderabad police seized Rs 8 crore from the BJP and a day after polling in the state, the Income Tax department has confirmed that the money was withdrawn from the party’s bank account.
In a letter to the Narayanaguda inspector, the IT deputy director of investigation B. Srinivasa Rao said, “On verification of the statement recorded from seven persons and the sworn statement of bank officials and the BJP office letter and bank account statement of the party and copy of cheques, it was found that cash of Rs 8 crore was withdrawn from the bank account of the state BJP in the Narayanguda branch of Indian Bank using cheque number 059198 on April 8.”
While local media reported this development as the IT department giving the BJP a “clean chit”, the police did not contend that the money was black, as it was withdrawn by cheque. After the cash was seized, the police issued a statement saying that the money was withdrawn from the party’s Indian Bank account. The IT department’s communication to the police merely confirms this.
The police will seek legal opinion before proceeding further and are looking at the possibility that the transaction violating the model code of conduct. No FIR has been registered against the seven persons who were held in connection with the seizure.
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Questions remain as to why the party needed such large quantities of cash, especially when the model code of conduct was in force. While the party claims that the money was withdrawn to clear “dues”, it is also unclear how the bank allowed Rs 8 crore to be withdrawn in one transaction.
Earlier, the IT department refused to accept the cash, citing a “lack of space”. The department asked the police to keep it in safe custody. This was seen as a rather peculiar assertion as IT office have “strong rooms” solely for the purpose of holding seized cash.
“The IT department told us that they have no place to keep the money and the seized car and asked us to keep it in safe custody. But there is no problem. It is as good as being in the custody of the I-T department,” Hyderabad central zone DCP P. Vishwaprasad told the Deccan Chronicle.
The cash also could not be deposited with a court because an FIR has not been registered against those involved.
“It is obvious that someone [at the IT department] was jittery because the cash belonged to the BJP and they did not want to take it upon themselves,” a source told DC.