Bengaluru: Two IPS officers among 28 charged in IMA scam

Ajay Hilori

Two IPS officers are among five policemen who have been charged in the Rs 4,000-crore IMA Ponzi scheme that rocked Karnataka in June 2019.

On Saturday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a supplementary charge sheet against 28 people, including the five police officers, and Mohammed Mansoor Khan, the managing director and CEO of I Monetary Advisory (IMA). The Bengaluru-headquartered IMA went bust after having taken thousands of crores from people, mostly Muslims, in the name of ‘Halal’ investment businesses.

Khan has already been arrested in the case, along with many other accused. The case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the BJP came to power last year. The CBI registered four cases in the scam and submitted the charge sheet in September last year, naming Khan and 24 others, including IMA directors, members and an auditor. In September this year, the CBI filed another charge sheet, naming former Bengaluru North assistant commissioner L C Nagaraj and a village accountant. At that time, the CBI didn’t charge the-then Bengaluru Urban deputy commissioner, B M Vijay Shankar, as he ended his life in June.

Saturday’s charge sheet was filed months after the state government issued the sanction to prosecute IPS officers Hemant Nimbalkar and Ajay Hilori. Nagaraj has been named again.

Nimbalkar, currently additional commissioner of police (administration), Bengaluru, was IGP (Economic Offences Division), Criminal Investigation Department, when he committed the alleged offence. Hilori, currently Commandant of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), was the deputy commissioner of police (east), Bengaluru, at that time.

The three other police officers who have been charged are E B Sridhara, the-then deputy superintendent of police, economic offences division, CID; M Ramesh, the-then inspector of the Commercial Street police station, and P Gowri Shankar, the-then sub-inspector of the Commercial Street police station.

The CBI’s case is that Nagaraj and the police officials had closed enquiries and verifications of complaints they had received from citizens against IMA. The accused did not take the necessary action under the law, including the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishment Act, 2004. They instead gave clean chit to the company and recommended closing the complaints, stating that IMA had not indulged in any illegal acts. The clean chit enabled the company to continue its illegal business and cheat thousands of investors.