Bengaluru: Income Tax (IT) officials conducted extensive search and seizure operations targeting several well-known contractors in Karnataka on Thursday .

According to media reports, they retrieved more than Rs 40 crore from one of the contractors associated with the group that spearheaded the 40% commission campaign against the previous BJP government. The raids took place across at least 25 locations in Bengaluru.

One of the major discoveries was a substantial cache of cash found in an apartment building allegedly linked to R Ambikapathy, the president of the BBMP Contractors’ Association and the vice-president of the Karnataka Contractors’ Association.

The cash, exceeding Rs 40 crore, was stored in over 20 cardboard boxes within an apartment where the contractor did not reside, as reported by Kannada media. The IT department is yet to release an official statement regarding the operation.