New India Cooperative Bank case: ‘Manohar Arunachalam was directly in touch with prime accused, accepted Rs 20L from him’ says EOW

Besides helping his father abscond, Manohar is also accused of having received Rs 15 crore in the presence of his father from Mehta in 2019, sources added.

He was being summoned by EOW for the last four to five days, but during the inquiry he was reportedly not giving correct information and was giving misleading replies. Hence, EOW officials arrested him. Two mobile handsets and three SIMs have been seized from Manohar and are being examined.

Suspicious entry of Rs 20 lakh

EOW sources said during investigation they learned about a suspicious entry of Rs 20 lakh from Manohar’s account to Mehta’s account. Manohar could not give satisfactory answers to questions regarding this transaction.

When cops checked the CCTV footage near his house they learned that Manohar was seen escaping with his father on the evening of 15th (after the FIR was lodged). Manohar’s father, who has a solar panel business, is accused of accepting Rs 40 crore from Mehta.

EOW seeks permission for lie detector test

EOW officials on Friday moved an application before the court seeking permission for lie detector test on Mehta as “he is not cooperating in the investigation, giving misleading replies and not disclosing crucial information”.

As per mandatory procedure, the court will ask Mehta for his consent, and only after he gives consent then the EOW will be granted permission for the scientific test to be performed on the accused.

Reward for information

EOW officials on Friday made a public announcement saying an appropriate reward would be given to the person providing information on Unnanathan Arunachalam. A Look Out Circular has already been issued against him. Any information on him can be shared with EOW on 9870316494 or 9594930647, said EOW senior inspector D Awari.

Earlier, police arrested Mehta, his accomplice Dharmesh Paun, a developer, who allegedly helped him route the money, and Abhimanyu Bhoan, former CEO of New India Cooperative Bank. Mehta and Paun were sent to judicial custody on Thursday while Bhoan was sent to police custody upto March 4. Earlier, police also informed the court that the accused had sent some amount abroad through a hawala channel.

Two more named as accused

On Friday EOW also submitted before the court that names of two more persons have been added as accused in the case. Hiren Bhanu, former chairman of the bank, and his wife Gauri Bhanu, an ex-director in the bank, have been included as wanted accused in the case, said an EOW officer.

During the investigation, it was also revealed that the main accused deposited a large amount of the misappropriated cash in two trusts. Officials discovered discrepancies in the bank’s cash records, with Rs 112 crore found missing from the Prabhadevi branch safe and an additional Rs 10 crore missing from the Goregaon branch’s safe.

The EOW has summoned nearly half a dozen audit firms asking them to join the investigation. EOW wishes to ascertain if the irregularities were detected in the past and if they were suppressed intentionally on anyone’s instructions.