CBI books two senior IPS officers

NEW DELHI: The CBI has booked senior Karnataka-cadre IPS officers Hemant Nimbalkar and Ajay Hilori, along with eight others, in connection with the ₹4,000crore I-monetary Advisory (IMA) scam, in which gullible investors were allegedly cheated in the name of Islamic banking, officials said on Tuesday.

The move came after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) received an approval from the Karnataka government to proceed with its investigation into the alleged role of 1998-batch IPS officer Nimbalkar, then posted as the Inspector General (CIDEOW), and 2008-batch IPS officer Hilori, then posted as the DCP, Bengaluru East, they said.

Along with the two officers, the agency has named Inpsector M Ramesh and Sub-inspector Gowri Shankar, both then posted at the Commercial Street police station in Bengaluru, Deputy Superintendent of Police (CIDEOW) EB Sridhara, besides the company, IMA, its founder Mansoor Khan and three of its other directors in a fresh case.

The agency had approached the state government, seeking permission to proceed against the two officers, who were in senior positions in the Karnataka police, and had allegedly helped Khan, the officials said.

In an order issued on January 7, the Karnataka government accorded the sanction under section 17(A)(b) of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 to the CBI to “conduct any inquiry or investigation into the allegations” against the two officers, they added.

The CBI has alleged that since 2016, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) repeatedly raised red flags on the activities of the IMA group, which was allegedly raising illegal deposits from investors promising lucrative returns in the name of Islamic banking practices.