Bengaluru: Income Tax officials this morning seized crores of rupees found in possession of Executive Engineer Narayana Gowda Patil, working in the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR).

Krishna Byre Gowda is the Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj.

Narayana Gowda Patil was allegedly given crores of rupees by a contractor and the cash has now been seized from a hotel room in Bengaluru’s Anand Rao Circle. The money was kept in two rooms of the hotel and all the notes are of Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 500 denominations, reports said. The exact amount seized has not been revealed by the Income Tax authorities, but sources said that the amount is more than Rs. 2 crore.

Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said that he would conduct an inquiry and obtain more details about the alleged scam. IT officials raided two places — Bengaluru and Haveri — simultaneously and recovered cash from both locations.

While money worth more than Rs. 2 crore was recovered from the hotel rooms in Bengaluru,  more than Rs. 25 lakh was recovered from Haveri. Narayana Gowda is absconding after he received information that raids were being conducted.

Officials however have arrested his driver and have seized the vehicle. Authorities are now probing the source of the money and its purpose.