Mumbai Police Arrests Fourth Accused In New India Cooperative Bank Scam

EOW is planning to approach the court to seek permission for a lie detector test on Hitesh Mehta, the main accused in the scam case.

All four of the accused arrested in this case will be produced in court today.

Source : PTI

The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing has arrested the fourth accused in the New Cooperative Bank scam case. Manohar Arunachalam is accused of directly receiving money from the accountant as a part of his fraudulent transactions linked to the bank. His father, U Arunachalam, was also present during the transaction.

Manohar is also suspected of having played a crucial role in aiding his father’s escape, allegedly assisting him in evading law enforcement after the illicit transaction occurred.

All four of the accused arrested in this case will be produced in court today.

EOW is planning to approach the court to seek permission for a lie detector test on Hitesh Mehta, the main accused in the scam case. Allegedly, the former General Manager of New India Co-Operative Bank, Hitesh Praveenchand Mehta, withdrew Rs 122 crore from the treasury from the Dadar and Goregaon branches of the bank. He was responsible for these branches during his tenure.

The case has been registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the bank’s Chief Accounts Officer at Dadar police station earlier this month. According to the complaint, the fraud allegedly took place between 2020 and 2025.

The Dadar police have registered an FIR under Sections 316(5) and 61(2) of the BNS Act.

Mehta was arrested on February 15, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed multiple restrictions on the bank on Thursday and barred depositors from withdrawing their funds from the lender, citing supervisory concerns. The central bank also superseded the lender's board on Friday, attributing it to poor governance standards.

As part of these restrictions, the regulator said that the bank is not allowed to renew or disburse loans and advances. As such, a large number of bank customers gathered outside the bank's branches in Mumbai, expressing anger and concern about their savings.  

The RBI also appointed Shreekant, a former chief general manager at the State Bank of India (SBI) as Administrator to oversee the affairs of the New India Cooperative Bank.