I-T dept says hoarding of cash by Govt contractors in Karnataka is one of reasons for recent currency crunch

The Income Tax department in Karnataka has said that hoarding of cash by Government contractors in Karnataka is one of the reasons for shortage of currency notes in certain parts of the country.

In a press release issued yesterday in Bengaluru, the department said, recent income tax searches in Karnataka indicated that several contractors were in possession of huge stocks of cash in the higher denominations of 500 rupees and 2000 rupees.

The IT raids between 24th and 26th of this



month resulted in a seizure of six crore seventy-six lakh rupees from four such contractors in the Mysore area. The department said the bulk of the seizure was made from lockers in benami names and it is not reflected in the account books maintained by the contractors.

In the Assembly election-related surveillance, investigation Wing in Karnataka seized total cash of 10 crore sixty-two lakh rupees and Jewellery worth one crore thirty-three lakhs.