IMA scam: Former Karnataka minister Roshan Baig remanded in CBI custody for one day

Baig was arrested by the CBI on October 22 and is alleged to have received several crores in kickbacks (File)

A special court on Tuesday remanded former Karnataka minister Roshan Baig in CBI custody for a day in connection with the Rs 4,000 crore I Monetary Advisory (IMA) scam. The court said Baig’s bail application would be considered on expiry of his CBI custody.

Baig, who suffers from a heart disease, was discharged on Monday from Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research in Jayanagar after he was admitted last week for “medical evaluation”. He has been sent to Parappana Agrahara Central Prison.

Baig, who was arrested by the CBI on October 22, is alleged to have received several crores in kickbacks. More than 40,000 investors, mostly from the Muslim community, were duped of their savings by arrested businessman Mohammed Mansoor Khan, who owns the IMA Group.

Baig’s name emerged when the scam surfaced nearly 18 months ago. Khan had fled the country but was arrested and brought back from Dubai in July 2019 by the Bengaluru police crime branch.

In a video released while he was in hiding, Khan had claimed that several state politicians and officials had coerced him into paying bribes, leading to the downfall of IMA. And one of them, who he claimed had received nearly Rs 400 crore, was Baig, the then Congress MLA from Shivajinagar constituency in central Bengaluru.

During investigations in 2019, police found documents in which a key associate of Khan had recorded payments made to politicians, policemen, and government officials. It showed Baig as a key recipient of funds.

Recently, a 13-member team of CBI officials from Delhi raided Baig’s house in Pulakeshinagar at around 6.30 am. CBI sources said they seized some of the documents they suspected to be linked to their investigation.

Baig crossed over to the BJP along with 16 other Congress and JDS MLAs in July 2019 and helped the BJP form a government under B S Yediyurappa by ousting the Congress-JDS coalition. Soon after coming to power, the BJP handed over the IMA scam case to the CBI in August 2019.

Baig, a seven-time MLA, was denied a BJP ticket for the bypolls held for the Shivajinagar constituency in December 2019 on account of his links to the IMA scam.

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