Bengaluru: A day after the Karnataka government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) – headed by deputy Inspector General of Police B R Ravikanthe Gowda – to look into the IMA Jewellers scam, probe was on to find whether the firm’s owner Mohammed Mansoor Khan had fled to Dubai.
Rumours were doing the rounds that Khan had fled to Dubai after police found two abandoned SUVs belonging to him, one of which was found parked near Kempe Gowda International Airport.
It is to be noted that Khan had a business in Dubai and he had later shifted to Bengaluru to start IMA Jewellers. Muslims from various parts of Karnataka and neighbouring States fell invested lakhs of rupees after being assured that their money would be safe and that the investment was as per the Islamic guidelines. About 30,000 complaints have been lodged till now.
Seven of the firm’s directors were held on 12 June for questioning and they informed the police that they were not aware of the situation.
The SIT team was set up after an audio clip in which Khan allegedly threatened to commit suicide went viral on the social media. He said that he was fed up with corruption and accused Shivajinagar Congress MLA Roshan Baig of taking Rs 400 crore from him and was not returning it. Following this, the State government announced that a 1-member SIT would be set up to nab Khan.
Baig, however, rubbished the accusation, and alleged that his enemies had linked his name to tarnish his character.
Earlier yesterday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a case of money laundering in the alleged ponzi scheme. The agency’s zonal office here filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR, and pressed criminal charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials had said.
The ED took cognisance of the complaint registered by the Karnataka police and the subsequent creation of a SIT to probe the alleged fraud.