Bhubaneswar: A team of I-T (Income Tax) sleuths carried out a major raid yesterday on a flex printing unit named ‘Jain Media’ located on Plot No-765 at Buddheswari Colony under Laxmisagar police limits in Bhubaneswar, ahead of the simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly in Odisha.

More than Rs 2 Crore of cash has been seized so far and the search operation is underway today.

A businessman who owns the flex printing unit was identified as Ranjeet Jain from the locality.

Allegedly, the I-T Department was tipped off that Jain had stacked a huge cache of currency notes in his house. I-T officials suspect that the cash was kept in reserve for use during upcoming elections.

According to a source, flex printing of at least five candidates of a particular political party was going on at the unit when I-T officials started a raid. I-T Department suspects Hawala corruption in the huge cash reserve. The raid team checked money receipts, cash books, and other documents to gather more information. The link of any political leader with the seized cash has not been ascertained yet.

Worth mentioning, the residence of Ranjeet Jain and the printing unit are located on the same plot.