NEW DELHI: In what could turn out to be a politically sensitive report, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has started an audit of all important search and seizure operations by the income tax (I-T) department during the last four years.This would include the two searches on the Sahara group and the Aditya Birla group where Congress has alleged some seized diaries contain details of alleged pay-offs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the chief minister of Gujarat.The Sahara diaries also contain references to several BJP and non-BJP politicians, including former Delhi CM and Congress politician Sheila Dikshit . The matter is also before the Supreme Court which has so far refrained from ordering a probe into the dairies seized by the income tax department.The federal auditor recently asked the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to share all data on I-T searches and also despatched a team to coordinate with the I-T’s audit department in Mumbai to gather details on the assessment made on the two significant searches.A source in CBDT confirmed the CAG audit and the fact that they have sought search details on the two industrial groups but refused to give further details on the matter. The auditor is likely to complete the findings within three months, by next March.All the above allegations of pay-offs form part of a PIL filed in the Supreme Court which is currently hearing the case and has posted the matter for next hearing on January 11. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who has moved the petition on behalf of NGO Common Cause, has also placed on record to the apex court copies of documents seized by the I-T department during the raids on the two groups.After the court raised questions on the authenticity of the documents, it has given petitioner some time to file additional evidence in support of its allegation against Modi and other political leaders. Bhushan had contended that he had voluminous I-T appraisal reports in his possession that discloses details of transactions, substantiating allegations of pay-offs.The CAG in its performance review of the direct tax department is looking at the outcomes of various raids conducted by I-T investigation units across the country, the nature of disclosures made during the raids and if serious allegations of corruptions have been taken to logical conclusions.