Stacks of currency notes of Rs 50, 100 and 2,000 denominations, all worth Rs 16.8 lakh, were found abandoned in the bushes of a farmland at Buklorahalli in Challakere taluk of the district on Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by circle police inspector Manjunath and sub-inspector Satish Naik rushed to the spot and recovered the cash.
According to the police, Rs 36 lakh cash was stolen from the office of Dileep Buildcon Ltd, the contractors executing the widening of the Bidar-Srirangapatna highway, on October 3. The office is close to the farm where the cash was discovered.
The police suspect that the cash found on the farmland could be the money stolen from the builders office. Investigations are underway.