An IAS officer, accused of allegedly accepting a bribe to hush up the Rs 4,000-crore IMA ponzi scam, was found dead at his residence on Tuesday night, a senior police officer said.
According to police, the former deputy commissioner of Bengaluru urban district BM Vijay Shankar was found dead at his residence at Jayanagar in Bengaluru.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) wanted to prosecute him in the IMA ponzi scam and recently sought state government’s permission to prosecute Vijay Shankar, along with two others, in connection with the case after interrogating them, according to news agency PTI.
“It is true that he was found dead at his residence,” said police, without elaborating further on the matter.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the HD Kumaraswamy-led coalition government in 2019, had arrested Vijay Shankar. Later, when the BJP government came to power in the state, it handed over the case to the CBI.
The investigative agency has also sought Karnataka government’s permission to prosecute two senior IPS officers in connection with the case.
Mohammad Mansoor Khan started the ponzi scheme in 2013 promising high returns.
A CBI probe had shown that IMA group entities headed by Khan had raised illegal and unauthorised deposits in an alleged dishonest and fraudulent manner from innocent investors to the tune of over Rs 4,000 crore, raising the eyebrows of the income tax department and the RBI.