EOW to seek court nod for lie detector test on prime accused in cooperative bank scam

Mumbai, Feb 18 (PTI) Investigators will seek a Mumbai court's permission to subject a former top executive of fraud-hit New India Cooperative Bank to lie detector test, citing his non-cooperation in probe, said officials said on Tuesday.

Hitesh Mehta, former General Manager and Head of Accounts at New India Cooperative Bank, has been arrested in connection with a Rs 122-crore embezzlement at the lender. He is in police custody till February 21.

As Mehta is not cooperating in the ongoing probe, the Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which is handling the case, will obtain permission from the court for his lie detector test, an official said.

During interrogation, Mehta has told the EOW that he gave Rs 70 crore to real estate developer Dharmesh Paun to complete an SRA (slum rehabilitation authority) project in suburban Mumbai, he said.

Paun, however, has admitted to having received only Rs 12 crore, according to the official.

Mehta also has told the EOW that he gave Rs 50 crore to businessman Unnathan Arunachalam, who deals in solar panels, he said.

Meanwhile, the EOW on Tuesday recorded the statement of another General Manager-rank official of the bank, who used to look into audits. The probe agency wanted to understand why the misappropriation of funds was not detected during audits, the official said.

Police have so far arrested two persons, Mehta and Paun, in connection with the fraud and further probe was underway.

As per the police, Devarshi Ghosh, the bank's acting chief executive officer, lodged a complaint against Mehta and others at the Dadar police station in central Mumbai on Friday for alleged misappropriation of the lender's funds.

Based on the complaint, the police registered a case in the early hours of Saturday, and the probe was transferred to the EOW.

The complainant alleged that Mehta and his associates hatched a conspiracy and embezzled Rs 122 crore from the safes of Prabhadevi and Goregaon offices (in Mumbai) of the bank.

A case 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 Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday superseded the cooperative lender's board for a year and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs.

A day prior to that, the RBI imposed several restrictions on the lender, including on the withdrawal of funds by depositors, citing supervisory concerns emanating from the recent material developments in the bank, and to protect the interest of its depositors. PTI DC RSY

Source: PTI