ED raids residence of former minister Roshan Baig
New Delhi/Bengaluru, Aug 5: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches against former Karnataka minister R Roshan Baig and a Congress MLA in connection with a money laundering investigation into the alleged Rs 4,000 IMA ponzi scam, officials said.
They said multiple premises of Baig and his associates are being raided by the agency under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Two of his premises in Shivajinagar of Bengaluru and that of Congress MLA from Chamrajpet in Bengaluru, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, and a travel company linked to him are being searched.
Searches were also conducted in some locations in Mumbai.
The Congress MLA is stated to have had a purported property transaction with then MD of IMA Group Mansoor Khan. This transaction was declared by Zameer Ahmed Khan in his election affidavit.
Baig, earlier arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in this case, was suspended from the Congress after the alleged scam came to light.
Baig is out on bail at present.
The Enforcement Directorate action is linked to its probe in the 4000-crore I-Monetary Advisor (IMA) alleged ponzi scam case, taking cognisance of a CBI FIR and a charge sheet.
The CBI, in April, had filed a charge sheet before a special CBI court in Bengaluru and had named Baig, Mansoor Khan, IMA Group and Baig's company Daanish Publications and others.
"It was alleged that the accused former minister received several crores of rupees from IMA funds for election expenditure.
"It was further alleged that the accused was also utilising the said funds for day-to-day expenditure, including salaries of employees of his firm. It was also alleged that the accused has spent the funds for various social and cultural activities in his constituency to increase his popularity," a CBI spokesperson had said in a statement post the filing of the charge sheet.
The alleged IMA scam pertains to over Rs 4,000 crore collected by IMA Group from over a lakh gullible investors in the name of providing attractive returns on investment following Islamic ways.
The CBI has alleged that the money was diverted to Baig, a minister in the erstwhile Congress government, led by Siddaramaiah, so that the IMA Group could continue its illegal activities, CBI officials had said.
The CBI had registered four cases in connection with the scam and has filed multiple charge sheets against 33 accused, including Khan, company directors, several revenue and police officials.
"It was alleged that the said Group had raised unauthorised deposits and cheated the public by failing to repay the principal and as well as the promised returns.
"These funds were allegedly diverted for acquiring properties, paying bribe amounts, etc. Several properties, including moveable and immovable, were identified and attached under KPIDFE (Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments) Act, 2004 by the competent authority," the CBI had said.
Bengaluru: Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducts raid at the residence of former Karnataka Minister & Congress leader Roshan Baig, in connection with I-Monetary Advisory investment scam
— ANI (@ANI) August 5, 2021
Visuals from the spot. pic.twitter.com/uxJjaK1f01
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Unexplained deaths: J&K’s Badhaal village declared containment zone
Rajouri/Jammu (PTI): The remote Badhaal village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district was on Wednesday declared a containment zone and prohibitory orders imposed on all public and private gatherings in the wake of the death of 17 people belonging to three families, officials said.
Another person belonging to the village has been admitted to a hospital in a critical condition, they said.
The containment orders have been imposed under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Section 163 of BNSS gives magistrates the power to issue written orders in urgent situations. These orders can be used to prevent or remedy nuisance or dangers.
According to the order issued by additional district magistrate (Rajouri) Rajeev Kumar Khajuria, the village has been divided into three containment zones – the first covering all families where deaths have occurred.
“The houses of these affected families shall be sealed and entry will be totally restricted for all individuals, including their family members, unless otherwise authorized by the designated officers/officials.”
In the containment zone 2, the order said the members of all families identified as close contacts of affected individuals be shifted to Government Medical College, Rajouri for continuous health monitoring which is mandatory.
All households will be covered under the containment zone-3 and staff will be deployed to ensure the continuous monitoring of food consumption, deployment of police personnel to enforce compliance and deployment of designated officers for maintenance of log books, the order said.
“All public and private gatherings are hereby prohibited within the jurisdiction of these containment zones, in order to prevent further spread of the infection,” the order said.
It said the designated officials shall be responsible for monitoring all meals provided to families in containment zones.
“It is mandatory for affected families and their close contacts to consume only the food and water provided by the administration. Any other food items available in the households are strictly prohibited for consumption,” the order said.
It ordered immediate replacement of all food and water supplies, and seizure of all edible materials in the infected households.
The fresh steps were taken after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the village on Tuesday.
Seventeen persons belonging to three families linked to each other have died under suspicious circumstances in the village between December 7 and January 19.
A 24-year-old man identified as Aijaz Ahmad was hospitalised on Tuesday evening after his health deteriorated.
