Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 15 : The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has summoned Hitesh Pravinchand Mehta, the former General Manager of New India Co-operative Bank Limited, in connection with a Rs122 crore financial fraud case, Mumbai police confirmed in their statement.
According to police officials, Mehta is accused of misappropriating funds while overseeing the bank's Dadar and Goregaon branches in Mumbai.
The fraud, which allegedly took place between 2020 and 2025, was detected when discrepancies appeared in the bank's financial records. An internal audit flagged concerns over missing funds, prompting a police investigation, the Mumbai police added
According to the complaint filed by the Chief Accounts Officer of New India Co-operative Bank at the Dadar Police Station, Mehta, in his capacity as General Manager, is accused of withdrawing a massive sum from the bank's accounts, taking advantage of his position.
The police suspect that Hitesh Mehta and another unidentified individual were involved in orchestrating the fraud.
Further, the police statement mentioned that the investigation was initially conducted by the Dadar Police, who have since registered a First Information Report (FIR) under sections 316 (5) and 61 (2) of the BNS (Banking and Non-banking Services).
The case has now been transferred to the Economic Offences Wing for further in-depth examination.
The EOW has since seized the details of the bank's books, which will undergo forensic auditing to ascertain the full scale of the fraud and determine the involvement of other individuals, if any, the police statement added.
The fraud has shocked the banking sector, raising concerns over internal controls and oversight at co-operative banks.
The investigation is ongoing, and the EOW has vowed to vigorously pursue the case to bring the culprits to justice.
Earlier in the day, the Mumbai Police's EOW started investigating the alleged irregularities in the New India Cooperative Bank.
The bank representative has made a complaint about the same to the EOW, following which his statement was recorded.
On February 14, the Reserve Bank of India superseded the Board of Directors of New India Cooperative Bank Ltd, Mumbai, for a period of 12 months, the central bank said in a statement on Friday, a day after it imposed several restrictions on the lender.
Consequently, the RBI appointed Shreekant, former Chief General Manager of the State Bank of India (SBI) as 'Administrator' to manage the affairs of the bank during this period.
The RBI has also appointed a 'Committee of Advisors' to assist the Administrator in discharging his duties.
The members of the Committee of Advisors are Ravindra Sapra (former General Manager, SBI) and Abhijeet Deshmukh (Chartered Accountant).
The action was necessitated "due to certain material concerns emanating from poor governance standards observed" in the Mumbai-headquartered New India Cooperative Bank Ltd.