Ask anyone in mineral-rich Lohardaga, a town 75 km west of Jharkhand capital Ranchi, where the Sahus live. ‘White House’ would be the reply. The Bauxite Town hides tonnes of wealth — a lot of money in cash. Dhiraj Prasad Sahu has been the Rajya Sabha MP of the town from the Congress since 2009.
The residents would also tell you Sahu’s fountain of wealth is located somewhere at ‘Bhatti Slope’ in the town.
Sahu has declared his modest assets worth Rs 34 crore in his affidavit filed in the 2018 Rajya Sabha election. Some days back, income tax authorities claimed to have recovered Rs 354 crore in cash from his locations in Jharkhand and Odisha. And they are still counting, even as money-counting machines have malfunctioned out of fatigue. Reports have emerged that I-T sleuths could also be using ground penetrating radars in their attempt to look for more cash.
Dhiraj Sahu and four of his brothers, with substantial involvement in politics, have played pivotal roles in Congress activities, particularly in Jharkhand. The primary business of the Sahu family revolves around the liquor industry, with significant operations in Odisha.
Those close to the Sahus say Dhiraj Sahu’s grandfather, the late Heera Sahu, laid the foundation of his family in the town. Heera Sahu arrived in Lohardaga from Bihar’s Obra town in Aurangabad during pre-Independence days. At that time, many ‘Vaishya’ community members from Magadh region of Bihar migrated via Sherghati and settled in Lohardaga, Chandwa, Gumla, Latehar, and Daltenganj. With Lohardaga being directly connected to Maharashtra, Heera Sahu settled there and started selling daily essentials, especially salt, spices and oil.
Then on, the family did not look back. In 1833, Lohardaga was made the headquarters of the administrative unit of the South West Frontier Agency by the British.Heera Sahu soon came to know that the real owners of the land, the tribal community, were fond of ‘hadia’ (rice beer). Heera’s son Baldev Sahu opened a distillery of raw liquor in Lohardaga, which did so well that within no time, Baldev became rich and famous in the region. The furnace opened by the late Baldev Sahu was closed a few decades ago, but even today, pouched country liquor is sold from there. That place is known as ‘Bhatti Slope.’
With his increasing wealth and power, Shiv Prasad Sahu, the eldest son of Baldev Sahu, entered politics and was elected Congress MP from Ranchi twice. Dhiraj Sahu, his younger brother, has carried forward the legacy.
Armed with a BA degree, Dhiraj Sahu has been an active participant in politics since 1977. He began his political journey with NSUI in 1977. Slowly and steadily, he climbed the party ladder and became office-bearer in the Lohardaga district and later in the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee. His political journey includes episodes of imprisonment during the Jail Bharo Andolan in 1978.
The Sahu family’s influence extends beyond politics. They are part of key decisions in parliamentary and legislative elections, and ministerial appointments. In 2009, Dhiraj reached Rajya Sabha for the first time. The then state president of Congress, Pradeep Kumar Balmuchhu, wholeheartedly helped him move forward. This trend continued and Dhiraj Sahu won the Rajya Sabha elections in 2010 and 2018 as well.
The party may be shunning Dhiraj Sahu, post recovery of cash, but he is known as the ATM for most Congress leaders.Dhiraj is claimed to have direct access to influential leaders in the Congress headquarters in Delhi. The office staff, insiders say, kept waiting for him to get his blessings. In November 2022, Sahu actively participated in Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Apart from Dhiraj Sahu, many other family members are also involved in his company Baldev Sahu and Group of Companies, which also have some other branches. Besides Congress, Dhiraj Sahu is said to have well-wishers in other political parties as well. The son of renowned social worker Baldeo Sahu and Shushila Devi, Sahu, 64, has come a long way from the family’s Aurangabad days. Like those days, he has no idea where he will finally land up.