Bengaluru: IMA Jewels owner, Mohammed Mansoor Khan, was arrested in New Delhi yesterday and is reportedly being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate.
According to media reports, Khan who was earlier absconding, returned to India yesterday and was taken into custody as soon as he landed in New Delhi.
The SIT team was set up after an audio clip in which Mansoor 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. SIT has issued notice asking Baig to appear before it on 19 July.
Thousands of investors, mostly Muslims, were left in the lurch after Khan absconded. It has been reported that people from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra and even Delhi had invested their money in the scheme.
Several IMA showrooms were raided by the SIT and cash, gold, silver, valuable gems and costly perfumes were recovered. So far, 22 people and 12 directors of the firm have been arrested in connection with the case. Deputy commissioner of Bengaluru urban district B M Vijay Shankar and assistant commissioner of Bengaluru North sub-division L C Nagaraj have also arrested. The two had allegedly taken Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 4 crore, respectively, from Mansoor Khan to cover up the case, after the Reserved Bank of India expressed concern about the functioning of the firm.