Bengaluru, July 26: A court in Bengaluru on Friday granted bail to three among the accused in I Monetary Advisory (IMA) ponzi scheme case. Those who have been released include the city's former deputy commissioner Vijay Shankar and ex-Assistant Commissioner Nagaraj. IMA Chief Mansoor Khan Gets Arrested by ED at Delhi Airport

The bench, however, rejected the bail plea of cleric Haneef Afsar, whose counsel had argued before the bench that he is innocent and was not aware about the alleged siphoning off of investments by the IMA top brass.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by outgoing Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, had last week arrested Shankar and Nagaraj after charging them of being bribed by IMA chief Mansoor Khan.

During the investigation, claimed the SIT, they found Shankar to have allegedly received Rs 1.5 crore in cash from Khan.

The investigators had, in the past week, also detained rebel Congress MLA Roshan Baig for questioning in the case.

Khan, who founded the "halal" investment group back in 2006, was also arrested at Delhi's IGI airport on July 19, immediately after his return from abroad.

The IMA chief's custody was extended by three more days on Wednesday, after the Enforcement Directorate told a magisterial court that they have incrementing evidence against him.

Investigators, while speaking to reporters, said the quantum of the ponzi scam could be to the tune of nearly Rs 2,000 crores. Those who have been duped are mostly Muslim middle class families who had invested in the group after the promoter had promised them non-interest returns.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 26, 2019 04:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).