The vice-president of Karnataka State Contractors’ Association R. Ambikapathy, who was in the news last month after the Income Tax Department recovered a huge cache of cash from him, passed away here on Monday.
According to association sources, he was ailing for a long time and had undergone a surgery recently. “He passed away following a heart attack. He was 68,” sources said.
In October, the Income Tax officials had found cash on premises owned by him and his family members as part of the multi-State search it had conducted on government contractors. Unaccounted cash of ₹94 crore, gold and diamond jewellery worth over ₹8 crore, and about 30 luxury wrist watches were seized by the IT officials.
Association sources said he was also the president of BBMP Contractors; Association, and is the brother-in-law of former legislator Akhanda Srinivasmurthy. He had stopped contacting work for the last seven years due to health issues and hence, the cash seized from his premises had raised eyebrows.