Income tax department seeks deposit data after November 8 from northeast banks

GUWAHATI: A day after Nagaland MP Neiphiu Rio's

son-in-law Anato Zhimomi

was detained in connection with

alleged money laundering operation

, the income tax department on Thursday asked all banks operating in

tribal-dominated states

in the northeast to furnish details of all deposits made post demonetization announcement.

A cache of more than Rs 3.5 crore that had disappeared after being flown in from Hisar to Dimapur in a chartered aircraft on Tuesday was recovered dramatically on Wednesday and Zhimoni was detained in this connection.

Sources in the I-T department said the Dimapur episode had revealed that a racket to convert black money into white was underway in the region. "Others may also be doing the same there (in the northeast). We are trying to trace all such accounts. We have asked the banks to give us details," sources said, adding that the data is expected to reach the I-T department in the next four or five days.

This came even as the home ministry directed stren - gthening of security in all airports and airstrips to check movement of demonetised Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. The alert has been sent after it was found that several crores of rupees in demonetised banknotes were transported in a chartered jet from an airstrip in Hisar to Dimapur.