I-T dept recovers over Rs 42 crore cash during raids on Karnataka contractors

Bengaluru: The Income Tax Department has recovered more than Rs 42 crore in cash, stashed in a residential premise here, on Friday as part of its tax evasion searches against some Karnataka-based contractors and persons linked to them, official sources said.

The searches triggered a political slugfest between Karnataka’s ruling Congress and the BJP ahead of assembly polls in five states.

Official sources said the searches are underway and the department has deployed cash counting machines and additional manpower to ascertain the final amount of cash recoveries.

Officials said a large part of the cash was seized from a residential premise in the capital city of Karnataka that had no occupant and the money was kept stashed in cardboard boxes.

The searches are continuing and till now more than Rs 42 crore in cash has been recovered.

The department is also investigating if this money, which appeared undeclared, was supposed to be pumped into neighbouring Telangana where assembly polls will be held next month, the sources said.

BJP leader and former deputy chief minister C N Ashwath Narayan targeted the Congress government in the state over the recovery, alleging that the money was collected from contractors as commission to fund the upcoming elections in five states.

”This proves the ‘ATM government’ allegations (against Congress govt) with evidence…. This is the small size consignment of the collection by the ‘ATM government’ that has been caught. Many such things are there. This is collected money. This is just a sample,” he said and urged other contractors to speak out about the money they had allegedly paid.

BJP leader and MLC N Ravi Kumar, speaking to reporters, claimed that the cash recovered from the contractor’s property has a value of Rs 42 crore and that the currency notes are of Rs 500 denomination and were stored in 23 boxes.

Word is going around the city that the money was collected for the Telangana polls, he said and alleged that it was the money gained as ”commission” to clear Rs 650 crore pending dues of the contractors from the government. Ravi Kumar demanded a probe into it.

Several other BJP leaders have made similar allegations against the ruling Congress.

Rejecting the ”baseless” allegations, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, ”No state (unit of Congress) will ask (for money). We won’t give it also… Have you seen it? Have they (BJP members making the allegations) seen it (money given to other states)? What is there to make such false allegations?”

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, reacting to a question on the I-T raids, said, ”Without politics, I-T won’t come. What is happening is politics. We too are aware of what is happening in Chhattisgarh, Telangana and other states. Where BJP is in power, nothing will happen; where BJP is not in power, such things happen.”

Karnataka State Contractors’ Association president D Kempanna was asked to comment about reports that crores of rupees in cash has been recovered from the house of one of its office-bearers.

He said the contractor had not been involved in any contract works for eight years and that he had several other businesses involving agriculture and stone crushing. The law will take its course, he added.

Assembly polls in Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram will be held between November 7 and 30.