As police claim ex-general manager has confessed to siphoning off Rs 122 crore from deposit boxes, court gives custody till Feb 21; the police have also arrested a builder, Dharmesh Paun, to whom Mehta had transferred over Rs 70 crore
(Left) Hitesh Mehta, former general manager of the New India Co-operative Bank, is produced before the Esplanade court on Sunday. Pic/Ashish Raje
Hitesh Mehta, the prime accused in the New India Co-Operative Bank scam, confessed to taking Rs 122 crore in cash from the Goregaon and Prabhadevi lockers of the bank between 2020 and 2025, according to Economic Offences Wing (EOW) sources. The police have also arrested a builder, Dharmesh Paun, to whom Mehta had transferred over Rs 70 crore.
The matter came to light on Friday when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed restrictions on the Mumbai-based bank over alleged financial irregularities.
The complainant Devarshi Ghosh, 48, the bank’s acting chief executive officer, had told the police that Mehta had allegedly hatched a plan to siphon R122 crore from Prabhadevi and Goregaon branches’ lockers.
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(Left) Hitesh Mehta, former general manager of the New India Co-operative Bank is produced in the Esplanade court on Sunday. Pic/Ashish Raje
Following this, an FIR was registered at Dadar police station and the case was then transferred to the EOW, on February 15. Mehta was subsequently arrested after several hours of questioning.
“Mehta confessed that he had committed fraud to RBI officials and the fraud took place between 2020-25,” a police officer told the Esplanade court where Mehta and was produced on Sunday.
“In December 2024, Paun received R1.74 crore from Mehta and in January this year, he was sent R50 lakh,” the officer added.
The funds involved are public deposits, and a large number of people are affected by the accused’s actions, the police said, adding a thorough probe was needed since it was a serious offence.
Paun’s lawyer, meanwhile, told the court that he had not received any money from the bank’s official account. “The court should also consider that he has undergone bypass surgery,” he said.
The court then also questioned the role of the auditor in the alleged fraud. “This fraud had been going on for a long time. What was the auditor doing at the time? Did the auditor tell the bank about the financial irregularities?” the court asked the police. Paun and Mehta were then remanded in police custody till February 21.
The duo was booked under Sections 316 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant or banker, merchant, broker, attorney or agent) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The RBI on Friday superseded the co-operative bank’s board for a year and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs.
A day prior to that, it 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.
With inputs from agencies
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