IMA Jewellery scam: More than 3,000 cases booked, govt orders SIT probe
Bengaluru, June 12: Hundreds of investors had thronged the 'I Monetary Advisory jewels' store on Monday worried about their money, after an audio clip surfaced with a person alleged to be its founder and managing director Mohammed Mansoor Khan heard saying he is going to commit suicide as he was fed up with corruption.
In the audio that has caused panic among investors, the person, allegedly Khan, is heard addressing police that he was committing suicide as he was fed up with corruption in the state and central government.
He is also heard accusing central and state officials of harassing him, compelling him to take the extreme step.
Also
Read
|
Here
is
analysis
of
Punjab
National
Bank's
wilful
defaulter
list
He
also
asks
police
to
sell
all
his
wealth
and
jewellery
to
pay
investors
and
is
heard
accusing
a
politician
of
taking
Rs
400
crore
from
him
and
not
returning
it.
Bengaluru jeweller names Congress leader
In the audio clip that has been widely circulated, the man talks of officials accepting bribes of upto Rs. 400 crore and alleges the involvement of senior Congress legislator Roshan Baig.
Roshan Baig, who was recently in the news for his strong and public criticism of senior Congress leaders, has said he was not part of the firm and that he would be taking legal action.
He also allegedly gave his location as south Bangalore, adding that he would not be alive by the time the audio reaches the public and that the "police" can sell off his "wealth" worth Rs 500 crore and repay the investors.
3,700
complaints
According
to
reports,
police
have
received
thousands
of
complaints
against
IMA
jewels
and
Khan,
whose
whereabouts
are
still
not
known,
from
investors
who
are
mainly
vendors,
small
businessmen
and
from
middle
and
lower
middle
class.
"Considering the seriousness of the #IMAJewels fraud, the inquiry has been handed over to a special investigation team and instructions on this have been given to theDGP," the Chief Minister of Karnataka's office tweeted.
SIT
probe
Kumaraswamy
earlier
held
discussions
with
State
Home
minister
M
B
Patil
and
issued
instructions
to
dispose
the
case
at
the
earliest,
and
ensure
action
against
the
guilty.
BJP and Congress twitter war
Meanwhile, the case also led to a twitter war between the BJP and Kumaraswamy as the saffron party tweeted a picture ofhim along with Mohammed Mansoor Khan.
"& when "I eat, you too eat" is a way of life in @JanataDal_S, frauds like Mohammed Mansoor Khan tend to eat, loot & scoot. Btw @hd_kumaraswamy's biryani day with frauds speaks a lot about acceptance. Must be tough acknowledging it. Isn't it," Karnataka BJP tweeted with the picture.
Reacting to this, Kumaraswamy in a tweet said, "It's sad @BJP4Karnataka stoops low again to misguide anddemean by using an old picture out of context.This has always been the BJP troll strategy.
#IMAfraud is a serious issue andthe culprits will be punished.
Responding, BJP said, "Good to know you have known this fraud for a long time. Should help you catch him soon. Your job is to catch the fraudster & not cry victim on twitter. Get your priorities right."
Meanwhile, another audio clip, purportedly of Khan, has surfaced in which he can be heard claiming to be in the city itself and promising to pay back all the investors.
"I'm in Bangalore itself. There is a conspiracy to drive me away by big big people..I will pay back people from whom I have taken money...
I have all the money I have got from people into diamonds, properties and jewelleries...by 15 (June) I will make the payments clear to every one. First small, then medium and thereafter big (investors)..," he said.
OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)
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