In a scene straight out of a movie, a video of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials in Karnataka digging out cash stuffed inside a waterpipe in the house of a PWD engineer during a raid has gone viral.
In the video, ACB officials can be seen using a bucket to drain out wads of currency notes, amounting to Rs 13.50 lakh, and gold ornaments during the raid at the residence of junior engineer Shanta Gouda Biradar in Kalaburagi district.
Moreover, Rs 15 lakh cash was found hidden in a compartment in the ceiling. In all, cash amounting to Rs 40 lakh was seized from Biradar's residence.
The ACB officials stumbled across the stash while conducting searches on offices and residences of 15 government officials across Karnataka. Over 500 ACB officials conducted searches on 68 locations across the state, IANS reported.
ACB sleuths smelt a rat after after Biradar did not open his door for 15 minutes after they knocked on the door. However, they did not find anything suspicious after searching the house.
The officials then summoned a plumber to cut open a waterpipe connected to Biradar's room. Once the pipe was cut open, officials found bundles of cash and gold ornaments stuffed inside it.
During another raid, ACB officers found wads of cash hidden in sarees in the house of LC Nagaraj, who works as an administrator of Sakala department. A bundle of US dollars was also seized from the residence of Group 'C' employee Nataji Hiraji Patil in Belagavi.