I-T raids reveal Boudh Distillery’s monopoly in Odisha’s spirit biz
BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Income Tax raids on Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu and his family-linked alcohol manufacturing business continue to unravel astounding volumes of cash, the Boudh Distillery Private Ltd (BDPL) group is under scanner for its near monopoly in the trade in Odisha as well as neighbouring states.
Sources said BDPL supplies the highest volume of spirits to manufacture Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in Odisha. It even supplies the spirit used to manufacture IMFL (whiskey and rum) to bottling units in Jharkhand’s Ranchi and Kolkata in West Bengal.
“BDPL Group is one of the biggest suppliers of spirit required to manufacture IMFL in Odisha. It accounts for about 80 per cent sale of the spirit in the state,” sources told this newspaper. There are about 17 to 18 bottling plants including those at Berhampur, Khurda, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Rayagada and Jajpur and the group provides spirit to many of them. “It dominates the business in the entire eastern region of the country in terms of sale of spirit,” said the sources.
Sources in the I-T department said searches continued at several alcohol manufacturing firms, many of which are inter-linked, and so far, at least Rs 351 crore cash has been seized by the central agency. In Balangir, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel have been deployed at the bank where the counting of seized currency notes was undertaken.
Sources said out of the seized cash, the maximum amount reportedly belonged to BDPL Group.
A team from the I-T Department from Hyderabad arrived in Balangir to examine the devices seized during the searches. While BDPL Group’s Boudh Distillery Private Limited is involved in manufacturing extra neutral alcohol (ENA) and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), its other subsidiaries such as Kishore Prasad Bijay Prasad Beverages Private Limited is engaged in sale and marketing of IMFL brands while Kwality Bottlers Private Limited is into IMFL bottling.
ENA has a huge demand in the country. It is the primary raw material for making alcoholic beverages. It contains over 95 pc alcohol by volume and is derived from different sources such as sugarcane molasses and grains. ENA is also used in the production of alcoholic beverages like whisky, vodka, and gin, among others. It also acts as an essential ingredient in the manufacture of cosmetics and personal care items, paints and ink for the printing industry and pharmaceutical products.
Sources said many other alcohol manufacturing firms where the IT Department is carrying out searches are linked to BDPL Group. The managing members and directors of all these firms are either relatives or extended family members, said sources. Meanwhile, sources in the Excise department asserted that there are no irregularities on the part of BDPL Group in obtaining a license or following other rules.