BENGALURU: A 13-member team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials from New Delhi on Monday morning raided former minister Roshan Baig’s residence and his son’s office in connection with the multi-crore I Monetary Advisory (IMA) scam.
This comes a day after Baig’s arrest on Sunday. According to CBI sources, two groups of officials conducted the raid on Baig’s house in Coles Park, Fraser Town, in the presence of his wife Sabiha Fatima and son Ruman Baig. The search began at 6.30am and continued till 4pm. A couple of hours later, another CBI team raided Ruman’s office on Jayamahal Road.
CBI sources said they seized some documents which they suspect are linked to their investigation. Several lockers were also taken away. Women officials took Sabiha to the CBI office in Ganganagar for questioning and took statements from her.
Meanwhile, IMA Group’s founder-director Mohammed Mansoor Khan, who was in CBI custody since Saturday, was produced before the special court. CBI sought an extension of Khan’s custody and was granted the same till November 27.
Baig, who was arrested based on ‘material evidence’, is presently in judicial custody. Khan in his statement had said Baig had taken Rs 400 crore from him. On Sunday, Baig and Khan were brought face to face and asked to explain their claims. Declining to reveal the details of what transpired during the face-off, a CBI source only said Khan reiterated he had paid Rs 400 crore, but Baig denied the same. A CBI special court is likely to hear Baig's bail application on Wednesday.
Executive engineer of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) PD Kumar, who is accused of taking a bribe of Rs 4 crore from Khan, has been taken into CBI custody. According to the agency, Kumar, who worked in BDA’s land acquisition department, had allegedly promised Khan he would bail him out from the inquiries initiated against him in 2018 and had taken the money.
Till date, CBI has registered five FIRs in the IMA case and alleged that irregularities totalling Rs 4,000 crore have been committed. Directors, members and associates of IMA Group and government employees, including IPS officers, have been named in the FIRs.