A court on Friday extended the police remand of Hitesh Mehta, the main accused in the Rs 122 crore New India Cooperative Bank embezzlement case, till February 28. The court also sent Abhimanyu Bhoan, the former CEO of the bank, to police custody until the same date. Bhoan was arrested late Thursday night in connection with the scam.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police, which is investigating the case, had sought further custody of Mehta, citing the need to examine a huge volume of documents related to the alleged fraud. The police also argued that Mehta and real estate developer Dharmesh Paun, another accused in the case, needed to be confronted with Bhoan to uncover further details.
Key Accusations
Hitesh Mehta, who served as the general manager and head of accounts at the bank, is accused of siphoning off Rs 122 crore from the bank’s safes over a period of time. He allegedly diverted a portion of the funds to Paun, who was also arrested in connection with the scam.
Following an inspection by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), discrepancies in the bank’s safes at its Prabhadevi and Goregaon offices were discovered, leading to the revelation of the fraud.
Legal Proceedings
The case was initially registered at Dadar police station on February 15, based on a complaint filed by the bank’s acting chief executive officer, Devarshi Ghosh. The probe was later handed over to the EOW.
The accused have been booked under Sections 316(5) (criminal breach of trust by bankers, public servants, and individuals in fiduciary roles) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Defense Argument
Advocate Karan Mehta, representing Hitesh Mehta, argued that the investigation into his client’s role was complete and that his further custody was unnecessary. He urged the court to remand him to judicial custody instead.
However, after hearing the arguments, the magistrate extended the police remand of Mehta, Paun, and Bhoan till February 28, allowing investigators more time to gather evidence and interrogate the accused.
The case remains under active investigation as authorities work to trace the misappropriated funds and uncover any additional links in the fraud.