Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy accused the BJP of trying to bring down the Congress-JD(S) government after Congress MLA and former minister R Roshan Baig was held late on Monday at Kempegowda International Airport by the Special Investigation Team probing the IMA money laundering case.

The detention

Sources said Baig was preparing to leave Bengaluru by private plane when the team held him for questioning. The SIT said he was stopped as he prepared to leave on a chartered plane for an unconfirmed destination, and that it would check whether the sudden trip was linked to a recent YouTube video released by Mansoor Khan, the prime accused in the IMA case. Baig, a minister in the previous Siddaramaiah government, was drawn into the case after Khan alleged that Baig had taken Rs 400 crore from him and not returned it.

Hours after Baig resigned from the assembly on July 9, the SIT issued him a notice to appear on July 11. He sought more time and said he would come on Monday, but did not appear. He had earlier criticised Siddaramaiah and state Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao over the party’s Lok Sabha showing and was suspended for anti-party activities, and he later joined the 16 MLAs whose resignations pushed the coalition to the edge of collapse.

Claims and counter-claims

On Twitter, Kumaraswamy said Baig was trying to leave for Mumbai on a chartered flight with Santhosh, personal assistant to BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa, and that he had been told Santhosh ran off on seeing the SIT. He said BJP MLA Yogeshwar was also present, which he claimed showed the BJP’s “direct involvement in destabilising the government through horse trading”.

The BJP dismissed the allegations and said the Chief Minister was misusing state machinery to save a government on life support. Its state unit tweeted that Baig had been given until 19 July to appear before the SIT, and accused the state government of using institutions to blackmail its own MLAs.

What happened next

The Congress-JD(S) government led by HD Kumaraswamy, which had taken office on 23 May 2018 with Congress support, fell in July 2019, and BS Yeddyurappa returned as Chief Minister.

See also: Janata Dal (Secular) | State assembly members

Originally published on 16 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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