Undisclosed income worth Rs 152 crore, including new currency notes worth Rs 5 crore, were found with two chief engineers of Karnataka’ Public Works Department after three days of raids and searches that ended on Friday, The Hindu reported. Apart from the cash, officials had also recovered seven kilograms of bullion, nine kilograms of jewellery and property documents from TN Chikkarayappa and SC Jayachandra on December 1. Income Tax Department officials, who conducted the raids, said they expected the amount of unaccounted-for money to rise further.

After this, State Home Minister G Parameshwara suspended both Chikkarayappa and Jayachandra, even as the Anti-Corruption Bureau sought the details of their assets from the Income Tax Department. ACB Inspector General MA Saleem said the agency was keen to pursue cases against the two engineers based on information from the tax department.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Income Tax officials in Bengaluru for the successful seizures. The raids are part of a nationwide crackdown against black money as well as money laundering. On November 8, Prime Minister Modi had announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes will not be legal tender anymore. He said it was a step to fight black money, corruption and the circulation of counterfeit currency in the country.