A team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials raided the residence of former MLA R. Roshan Baig near Coles Park in Pulikeshinagar early Monday morning, and seized documents related to his properties and business ventures. This comes a day after Mr. Baig was arrested by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the ₹4,000 crore I-Monetary Advisory (IMA) investment scam.
The raid began around 7a.m. and search operations went on for eight hours. “Property documents and businesses ventures of Mr. Baig’s son R. Ruman Baig have also also been seized. The police questioned his family members and recovered their mobile phones for analysis,” said a senior official.
The prime accused in the case, Mohammed Mansoor Khan, managing director and chief executive officer of the IMA Group of companies, has alleged that he had given Mr. Baig ₹400 crore to promote his venture and encourage people to invest in IMA using his political clout and media business. “Mr. Baig was one of IMA’s more prominent proponents and he did this for monetary gain,” the official added.
CBI officials claimed to have found evidence of monetary transactions between Mr. Baig and Mr. Khan made through shell companies. “We are probing further. We are also questioning Mr. Baig to ascertain who tipped Mr. Khan when the Karnataka Special Investigation Team started the probe. He fled to Dubai evading arrest,” said a source. Mr. Khan was finally arrested in July 2019 by the Enforcement Directorate when he landed at Delhi airport.
Investigators are also probing other people who may have helped Mr. Baig. The CBI is likely to seek his custody to further their investigation. Mr. Baig is currently in judicial custody at Bengaluru Central Jail in Parappana Agrahara.
The CBI officials have also taken another accused P.D. Kumar Nayak into custody. Kumar, who was an executive engineer in the land acquisition department of the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) before he was suspended, had allegedly taken ₹5 crore from Mansoor Khan as bribe.
Mansoor Khan in CBI custody
A special court on Monday extended the Central Bureau of Investigation’s custody of Mohammed Mansoor Khan till November 27. The CBI had taken custody of Mr. Khan on Friday for four days but sought an extension to continue their investigation. “We are verifying information obtained from Mr. Baig with the accused and questioning him about the documents recovered from his house during the raid,” said a CBI official.