Mangaluru— The Karnataka Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP) has ordered that four high-profile criminal cases involving alleged multi-crore fraudster Roshan Saldanha be shifted to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for in-depth inquiry. The order, dated August 13, signals a ramp-up in the investigation.
Two of the cases — Crime Nos. 22/2025 and 40/2025 — were filed at the CEN police station under Sections 111, 316(2), 316(5), 318(2), 318(3) with Sections 3(5) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The remaining two — Crime Nos. 109/2025 and 115/2025 — were lodged at Kankanady police station under Sections 318(4) and 3(5) of the BNS. Authorities say all are tied to Saldanha’s suspected large-scale loan and land scam, with fraud estimates ranging from ₹10 crore to over ₹200 crore.
Saldanha, 43, of Bollagudda, Bajal, was taken into custody in July following a police raid on his opulent, “Bollywood-style” residence. The search revealed concealed rooms, lavishly staged interiors, and counterfeit legal setups allegedly used to entice and defraud wealthy businesspeople. Investigators froze ₹3.7 crore and tracked funds linked to victims in Maharashtra and Assam.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also probing the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Raids at five city sites led to the seizure of key documents, the freezing of ₹3.8 crore in bank holdings, and the discovery of ₹5.8 crore spent on fishing vessels registered in the name of Saldanha’s wife, Dafney Neethu D’Souza.
The DG & IGP has instructed the Mangaluru City Police Commissioner to hand over all files and officers connected to the cases to the CID. The department is expected to submit a detailed report after concluding its investigation into what officials describe as a “complex, multi-state fraud network.”