Bengaluru, June 23: Vijay Shankar, former Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban and Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was found dead at his residence in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening. Reports suggest that he was found hanging at his home. He was one of the main accused in Rs 4,000 crore I-Monetary Advisory (IMA) ponzi scam. IMA Ponzi Scam: Mohammed Mansoor Khan Gets Arrested by ED at Delhi Airport.

"He was found dead at his residence on Monday. We have registered a case of unnatural death and the matter is under investigation. Cause of death cannot be concluded as suicide yet," Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao was quoted as saying by The News Minute.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had arrested Vijay Shankar for accepting a bribe of Rs 1.5 crore from IMA scam prime accused Mohammed Mansoor Khan last year. The 59-year-old IAS officer was suffering from depression after he was jailed, reports said.

The multi-crore IMA scam cheated thousands of investors in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Ponzi scheme lured investors by saying that their money will be used in ‘halal-compliant’ investments as the firm will not give out loans to any business related to liquor or other haram practices.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 23, 2020 11:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).