M A I N   N E W S

Day 1: Team Modi gets cracking, sets up SIT on black money
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 27
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team today hit the ground running by announcing setting up of a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to unearth large amounts of money stashed abroad, a decision taken to implement the directions of the Supreme Court.

The first meeting of the new Modi Cabinet approved the SIT headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice MB Shah with Justice Arijit Pasayat as its vice chairman. A host of top officials from the enforcement, intelligence, revenue and investigating agencies of the government and the Reserve Bank of India will also be part of the special probe team. The Union Cabinet is scheduled to meet again tomorrow to finalise among other things dates to hold the first session of the 16th Lok Sabha.

Union Minister of Law, Telecom and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a briefing: "In the first Cabinet meeting of the new government...in the light of the directions of the Supreme Court, we have constituted an SIT for unearthing black money... This was an important issue for us..." The members of the committee include, Secretary Department of Revenue, Deputy Governor, RBI, Director, Intelligence Bureau, Director, Enforcement, CBI Director, Chairman Central Board of Direct Taxes, Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau, Director General, Revenue Intelligence, Director, Financial Intelligence Unit, Director, Research and Analysis Wing and Joint Secretary, in Central Board of Direct Taxes.

An official announcement said the SIT has been charged with the responsibility of investigation, initiation of proceedings and prosecution in cases of Hasan Ali and other matters involving unaccounted money. The SIT shall have jurisdiction in the cases where investigations have already commenced or are pending.