Income-tax officials on Thursday said they carried out a search on a contractor following tax evasion and amassing of wealth disproportionate to known sources of income.
According to I-T sources, the searches took place in Dharwad, Mangaluru and Udupi and continued till late night. It is learnt that the contractor was closely linked to a senior Congress leader.
Reacting to the search, Belagavi Rural Congress MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar termed it as an act of vengeance when the Assembly by-polls were just two days away.
"I, too, saw the news about raids on a contractor. It is unfortunate. We have been saying this is all vengeance when the elections are due day-after-tomorrow. It is aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear among our workers," Hebbalkar told reporters in Hubballi.
She added that there were political motives behind the raids and blamed the BJP for using the central agencies such as ED and CBI on its political rivals.