Deputy commissioner of Bengauru urban district BM Vijay Shankar was arrested today. (Representational)

The special investigation team (SIT) probing the Bengaluru-based IMA group ponzi scam has arrested the deputy commissioner of Bengaluru urban district BM Vijay Shankar on charges of receiving Rs 1.5 crore from company founder Mohammed Mansoor Khan, the police said.

The IAS officer had allegedly taken the bribe to give a favourable report after the RBI asked the state government to probe the company's businesses, they said.

With this, the number of people arrested by the SIT has gone up to five.

The SIT had recently arrested assistant commissioner of Bengaluru north sub-division LC Nagaraj and a village accountant Manjunath for allegedly taking bribe of Rs four crore from Mansoor Khan for giving a clean chit to his business in their report to their seniors.

A corporator and a Bangalore Development Authority officer were earlier arrested in connection with the fraud. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the case simultaneously, had recently questioned Karnataka minority welfare minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan as he had sold his property in the city to Mansoor Khan.

The ED, which has registered a money laundering case in the scam in which thousands of depositors are said to have been duped, had attached assets worth Rs 209 crore, including 20 immovable properties and bank deposits, in connection with the case.

The BJP has demanded a CBI inquiry into the case. The ED had filed the money laundering case against the IMA group of companies and Mohammed Mansoor Khan after reports emerged that he has gone underground fearing investments worth crores of about 40,000 investors have tanked.