IAS officer accused of graft in IMA scam dies by suicide in Bengaluru
B M Vijay Shankar was arrested with several other officials in May 2019 during an investigation into a ponzi scam and was lodged at Parapanna Agrahara jail before he got bail.
A senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official B M Vijay Shankar against whom CBI had registered a case of corruption in the I Monetary Advisors (IMA) ponzi scam, allegedly died by suicide at his residence in Bengaluru’s Jaynagar area on Tuesday night, police said.
The officer had been arrested for allegedly taking a bribe from a ponzi scheme mastermind. (Representative Photo/Getty Images/)
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The officer who was under suspension had been arrested and jailed in July 2019.
Tilaknagar police station officials said that his wife and daughters were present in the house when he ended his life. No suicide note has been recovered.
“We have taken up a case of unnatural death and are investigating,” said Bhaskar Rao police commissioner of Bangalore.
The IMA ponzi scheme run by its founder Mohammed Mansoor Khan and his associates had duped lakhs of people by promising higher returns using Islamic way of investment.
Vijay Shankar a former District Commissioner of Bangalore was accused of accepting a bribe of at least ₹1.5 crore from IMA’s Khan by a special investigative team constituted by the state government but the case was subsequently transferred to the CBI.
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The SIT which had arrested him had also recovered ₹2.5 crore cash from his residence. The amount allegedly included the bribe money. At the time of his arrest, Shankar was heading the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments and allegedly accepted the bribe to give a clean chit to IMA and its main promoter Khan.
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The SIT which had arrested him had also recovered ₹2.5 crore cash from his residence. The amount allegedly included the bribe money. At the time of his arrest, Shankar was heading the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments and allegedly accepted the bribe to give a clean chit to IMA and its main promoter Khan.
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More than 41,000 complaints were filed by investors alleging fraud in IMA after the firm closed in May 2019 and ceased to pay dividends. Shankar was arrested with several other officials and was lodged at Parapanna Agrahara jail before he got bail. He had earlier been discharged by a court in a separate disproportionate case filed by the state Lok Ayukta for lack of evidence.
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