Congress MLA and former Minister R. Roshan Baig was released on Tuesday afternoon by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) after 14 hours of questioning.
The SIT had detained the Shivajinagar MLA at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday night while he was trying to leave the city on a chartered flight. The police are probing his link to the I Monetary Advisory (IMA) group of companies, which is being investigated for a multi-crore investment scam.
An SIT team, led by DCP S. Girish, questioned Mr. Baig on his association with IMA founder and MD Mohammed Mansoor Khan, who alleged that the Congress leader had borrowed ₹400 crore. The SIT asked Mr. Baig why he did not appear for questioning despite being served two notices, and why he was leaving the city.
According to police officials, Mr. Baig said his granddaughter had not been well when he was initially summoned for questioning. “He then said that as chairman of the Karnataka State Haj Committee, he had been busy supervising the arrangements for pilgrims,” said a senior police official, adding that he also cited hectic activities in the Vidhana Soudha as another reason.
The SIT recorded his statements and released him on condition that he should report back on July 19. Soon after leaving the SIT office, Mr. Baig told the media that he had been detained owing to some confusion. He said he would cooperate with the investigators.
It was alleged that Mr. Baig was to fly to Mumbai to join rebel MLAs but he refuted the claims. “I wanted to travel to Pune last night for personal work but there was some confusion that I was running away. It was deliberate. Some people played mischief, but I will not blame anybody,” Mr. Baig said. The police analysed the bank account details of Mansoor Khan, who is absconding, and took stock of his many investments.