BENGALURU: Senior IAS officer BM Vijayashankar, an accused in the multi-crore I Monetary Advisory scam, allegedly ended his life by hanging at his residence in Tilak Nagar police limits here on Tuesday evening.
While the exact cause is being investigated, it is strongly suspected that the officer took his own life as he was depressed after his name surfaced in the scam and he was also arrested in the case. Police said his family members reported to the police about the incident around 8 pm.
“As Vijayashankar did not open his room door, his family members broke it open and found him hanging from the ceiling fan. Though they brought him down, he was dead by that time, after which they alerted us,” an official said. The police said that no suicide note was found and forensic experts were pressed into service.
Vijayashankar attended office, returned home early
Vijayashankar, who was Deputy Commissioner (DC), Bengaluru North, was arrested last year by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) over corruption charges in the Rs 4,000 crore IMA ponzi scheme. The case was later transferred to the CBI which registered an FIR against Vijayashankar, L C Nagaraj, former sub-division officer, Bengaluru North, and Manjunath, former village accountant, Bengaluru North, under sections of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
“The family is in shock. We are yet to inquire with them about the reason for the suicide. However, a preliminary probe revealed he was depressed after he was arrested in the IMA case and the CBI had also grilled him and named him in the FIR. This may have led him to end his life, but we are investigating the case from all angles,” an official said.
After being placed under suspension, Vijayashankar was posted as Additional Mission Director-1 of Sakala department about 20 days ago. Police said he had gone to the office on Tuesday and also held meetings. “He returned home early in the afternoon. Only he and his wife were at home. He last spoke to his wife at around 6.30 pm, after which he went to his room and locked himself up. As there was no response from him for an hour, his wife, with the help of neighbours, broke open the door to find him hanging,” police added.
City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, rushed to the spot following the incident. A case of unnatural death has been registered at Tilak Nagar police station. Earlier this month, the CBI had sought permission from the State government to prosecute Vijayashankar, Nagaraj and Manjunath. “The government is yet to grant sanction,” said an official source. Vijayashankar and Nagaraj, appointed competent authority under Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments (KPID) Act, were accused of covering up the IMA fraud after receiving illegal gratification, the source added.