Bengaluru: “Cash in bulk is being illegally transported on a daily basis in Karnataka in convoys with alleged police cover and is being hoarded at residences of politicians and ‘safe’ places, which are known to them and their cronies for distribution to lower party functionaries, who are inducing voters with illegal money,” said a top official source on the day the Income Tax Department swooped down on engineers, contractors and associates of some political leaders in various districts in Karnataka for alleged tax violations.
The entire responsibility of illegal distribution of funds to voters is allegedly being handled by some engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) on the instructions of their political bosses, the officer claimed.
The Income tax raids on Thursday “politically exposed” the engineers and contractors ahead of Parliament elections. This has also unearthed the unholy nexus among the politicians, contractors and engineers for illegal poll expenditures. “The tax sleuths have seized large amount of cash and incriminating documents during the raids,” he added.
According to top sources the modus operandi of making payments to government contractors in return of kickbacks in cash, which was used by politicians for poll expenditure and to induce the voters was uncovered during the 2018 Assembly elections in Karnataka.
“The same modus operandi has resurfaced . In the last few weeks it has come to the notice of tax authorities that government work orders are allocated to certain trusted aides/contractors for whom funds are released on priority basis basis in the months preceding the elections.
The entire chain of tendering process and allocation of work order is followed by making of payments on priority basis. Close to the elections the contractors give back cash through a series of withdrawals and pump money into electoral process to favour their political bosses. While the engineers actively aid and assist the politicians in awarding of contracts to their trusted aides and also their kith and kin, the contractors aid the politicians by withdrawing the funds so received and returning it to the politicians for use in the electoral process,” the officer said.
Tenders, he says, are fixed to favour certain trusted contractors. They are told to submit their bills at the last moment and the funds are immediately transferred into their accounts. The contractors either directly withdraw or transfer funds to the accounts of close aids, associates and personal assistants of politicians,” he added.
