Senior IAS officer and IMA ponzi scam accused Vijay Shankar found dead.

IAS Vijay Shankar Dead, Bengaluru News: Senior IAS officer and former Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner BM Vijay Shankar was found dead at his residence in Jayanagar here on Tuesday. He was staying at his house located near Ashoka Pillar in Jayanagar. According to police, it was informed about his death around 8 pm.

“It is true that he was found dead at his residence,” a police officer told PTI, without elaborating further.

Shankar was earlier arrested for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore scam related to the I Monetary Advisory (IMA) ponzi scheme. He was out on bail since July 2019.

Shankar was accused of allegedly accepting a bribe to hush up the IMA ponzi scheme. He was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that was set up by the HD Kumaraswamy-led Karnataka government in 2019.

When the BJP came to power, the BSY government handed over the case to the CBI. According to a report in The Indian Express, the CBI wanted to prosecute Shankar in the Rs 4,000-crore scam.

“We have taken up BM Vijay Shankar’s death as a case of unnatural death. It is not yet time for us to jump to conclusions as an investigation is on,” Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said.

The IE report said a primary investigation has indicated that he was alone at the house when he “might have ended his life”. Citing a senior police officer, the report said Shankar’s body has been shifted to Victoria Hospital for post mortem and other procedures will follow based on the report.

Shankar had allegedly issued a false report about the IMA group in 2018, which allowed the company to dodge the seizure of its assets. He had reportedly taken a bribe of Rs 1.5 crore from the company to provide a favourable report when investor complaints were on the rise and revenue officials had initiated proceedings to seize assets of the group.