IMA: CBI books fresh case against two IPS officers

New Delhi: In a new development in the I Monetary Advisory Ponzi scheme that surfaced in Bengaluru last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a fresh corruption case against two senior IPS officers in Karnataka for allegedly favouring the chit fund company and its MD Mansoor Khan in a quid pro quo arrangement.

The two senior officers are 1998-batch IPS officer Hemant Nimbalkar, then posted as the Inspector General (CID-EOW), and 2008-batch IPS officer Ajay Hilori, then posted as the DCP (Bengaluru East). In addition, the agency has also booked Inspector M Ramesh and Sub-Inspector Gowri Shankar, both then posted at the Commercial Street police station in Bengaluru, DSP (CID-EOW) EB Sridhara, besides the company, IMA, its founder Mansoor Khan and three of its other directors in the fresh case.

The agency registered the case after receiving sanction under Section 17a of the PC Act to do so from the Karnataka Government as mandated by the 2018 amendments to the PC Act.

Moreover, officials in the know have said that the CBI has also sought prosecution sanction to file a chargesheet against six public officials, including Hilori and Nimbalkar in the main IMA case.

However, the allegations against Hilori and Nimbalkar in both the IMA and the fresh cases are the same in nature. The CBI has alleged that these police officials had, in a conspiracy, ignored multiple red flags raised by the RBI with respect to the IMA's functioning and also abused their official position to provide undue favour to IMA and its directors by not investigating the company. The CBI had also conducted searches at the residences of all these police officials in connection with the IMA case last year.

Interestingly, Nimbalkar is married to Karnataka Congress MLA Anjali Nimbalkar who represents the Belagavi constituency. During the political turmoil in Karnataka last year, Anjali had reportedly considered switching sides but then chosen to stay with the Congress.