The bag containing the cash was kept on the vehicle's engine and due to heat, it caught fire resulting in burning of the notes.
Burnt currency notes in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 were found in an abandoned vehicle bearing a sticker of a Congress leader from Telangana on the outskirt of Suryapet town in Nalgonda district today, police said.
Nalgonda is one of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana region where polling was held today.
The windscreen of the multi-purpose vehicle had a sticker of former Huzurnagar MLA and minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, police said.
Reddy is currently the working president of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC).
"We don't know whether the vehicle belonged to him or his followers or somebody else. Probe is on," a police official said.
"The vehicle was found abandoned. Our police team found burnt currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations. The exact amount which was being carried in the vehicle is still not known. The driver is absconding," Nalgonda SP T Prabhakar Rao told PTI over phone.
The bag containing the cash was kept on the vehicle's engine and due to heat, it caught fire resulting in burning of the notes, the SP said, adding they had registered a case in this regard and further investigations are on.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal said at a press conference here that a report in this regard was sought from Nalgonda police.
"Police are yet to arrest the driver of the vehicle. We have asked the SP to give a report on the incident," he said.
Replying to a query, the CEO said, "Allegations are that there was Rs 2.5 crore in cash in the car. It is very difficult (to determine or verify) the exact amount unless the case is fully investigated. We need to investigate from where the cash was brought and whom it belongs to".
Police suspect that the driver of the vehicle fled with the bag after fire.
While some of the partially burnt currency notes were found lying inside the bonnet of the car above the engine, some were found on the back seat of the car, police said.
According to police, the vehicle was on its way to Kodad in the district from Hyderabad when the bag suspected to be kept inside the bonnet caught fire due to heat, forcing its occupants to abandon the vehicle.
The car has been impounded by police.