SIT grills Baig for nine hours over IMA scam

Bengaluru: Hours after he was detained from Kempegowda International Airport on Monday night, Shivajinagar MLA R. Roshan Baig was released on Tuesday by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

He was reportedly grilled by the SIT In connection with the multi-crore I Monetory Advisory (IMA) investment scam, a ponzi scheme that cheated thousands of investors.

The MLA, however, was directed to appear before the SIT on July 19 for further interrogation. A senior SIT officer said that Mr Baig was released after a preliminary round of questioning in as IMA group MD Mohammed Mansoor Khan had accused Baig of taking `400 crore from him and refusing to return it.

Mr Baig was detained at the airport while he was boarding a private chartered aircraft to Mumbai. As his plan to fly coincided with the video released by Mansoor Khan, claiming that he would return to India in 24 hours, the police detained the MLA fearing he may leave
the country.

The MLA was taken to SIT office where he was grilled for about nine hours. Mr Baig later told media persons that he has answered the questions posed by SIT officials and would appear on July 19.

"The SIT allowed me to go and said I was free to go anywhere in the country. I have been asked to appear on July 19. I have told SIT officials that I have nothing to do with the IMA scam and had no dealings with its perpetrator (Mansoor Khan)," he
told reporters.

Mr Baig's name figured out in the audio clip released by Mansoor on June 10, before he fled the country. Mansoor had alleged that Mr Baig took ` 400 crore from him and refused to return it. He alleged that instead Mr Baig had sent goons to his office and house to threaten and harass him. The MLA had refuted the Mansoor’s charges as baseless and frivolous.

Meanwhile SIT chief and Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda rubbished the reports of Mr Baig alleging Chief Minister Kumarswamy's involvement in the IMA scam. “The reports are baseless,” the SIT chief said.

The report stated that Mr Baig took the name of Mr Kumarswamy during the interrogation and accused him of receiving kickbacks.

As part of its investigation the SIT had earlier arrested Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district Vijaya Shankar, Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) L.C. Nagaraj and Bangalore Development Authority official P.D. Kumar Nayak, for allegedly accepting crores of rupees as bribe to write a favourable report for IMA in an RBI inquiry.

They have also arrested 12 board directors of the company and one moulvi for encouraging people to invest in the company.

Over 40,000 complaints have been filed against IMA  and Enforcement Directorate estimates that the scam is over `4,000 crore.