New India Co-operative Bank Manager Arrested in Rs 122 Crore Fraud Case

Mumbai: Hitesh Mehta, the general manager and head of accounts at New India Co-operative Bank, has been remanded to police custody until February 21 following allegations of misappropriating Rs 122 crore from the bank. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police presented Mehta, along with co-accused Dharmesh Paun, before a holiday court, which ordered their continued detention for further investigation.

The case was initiated after Devarshi Ghosh, the bank’s acting chief executive officer, filed a complaint at Dadar police station, alleging that Mehta and his associates conspired to embezzle funds from the Prabhadevi and Goregaon branches of the bank. The police registered the case early Saturday morning, and the investigation was handed over to the EOW.

The accused have been charged under sections 316(5) (criminal breach of trust by public servants, bankers, and others in positions of trust) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.

Amidst these developments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took decisive action by superseding the bank’s board for one year and appointing an administrator to oversee its operations. Additionally, the RBI imposed restrictions on withdrawals by depositors to safeguard their interests, citing concerns over the bank’s financial stability following these revelations.

News Source : “Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.”