Rebel K’taka MLA Roshan Baig detained by SIT sleuths in IMA scam

The Special Investigation Team on Monday (July 15) night detained Karnataka MLA Roshan Baig, one of the accused in the I Monetary Advisory (IMA) fund scam that cheated thousands of customers.

The development came hours after IMA founder Mansoor Khan, who went absconding last month, released a video saying he would return to India within 24 hours.

Khan accused Baig of having borrowed ₹400 crore and not paying it back. He alleged that Baig took money before the elections hoping he would get a Lok Sabha ticket and that he failed to return it despite not getting to contest.

The Congress on June 18 had suspended the Shivajinagar MLA (Baig) for anti-party activities and he is one of the 16 MLAs who resigned from the Assembly last week causing instability in the ruling government.

The Police detained Baig at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru when the former minister was about to board a flight to Mumbai.

Kumaraswamy tweeted a photo of the charted flight details in which Baig was flying and said BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa’s PA Santosh accompanied him and that the saffron party was helping the former minister escape.

Today SIT probing the #IMA case detained @rroshanbaig for questioning at the BIAL airport while he was trying leave along with @BSYBJP‘s PA Santosh on a chartered flight to Mumbai. I was told that on seeing the SIT, Santhosh ran away while the team apprehended Mr. Baig. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/MmyH4CyVfP

— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) July 15, 2019

While Baig in his statement, said he was heading to Delhi, the flight details showed the MLA was going to Pune. The Rebel MLAs who resigned from the Karnataka Assembly were staying at a hotel in Mumbai.

The Chief Minister had ordered a SIT probe when about 40,000 customers filed complaint against IMA for cheating them with their investments. The SIT had issued a notice to Baig to appear before them on July 19.