New India Co-operative Bank Scam: Absconding Accused Unnathan Arunachalam's Son Arrested in Rs 122 Crore Fraud Case

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Thursday arrested Manohar Arunachalam (33) in connection with the ₹122 crore fraud at New India Co-operative Bank. Manohar is accused of accepting ₹15 crore, allegedly handed over by the bank’s general manager Hitesh Mehta in the presence of his father, Unnathan Arunachalam alias Arun Bhai. Mehta had reportedly given ₹40 crore to Arun Bhai.

According to the police, Manohar helped his father escape after an FIR was registered in the case on February 15. Following his arrest, the number of accused arrested in the scam has risen to four.

Hitesh Mehta, the bank's general manager, along with other accused, allegedly orchestrated a scam involving ₹122 crore from the bank's vaults at the Prabhadevi and Goregaon branches. As part of this fraud, ₹15 crore was received by Manohar in 2019 in the presence of his father. During interrogation, Mehta revealed that he had given ₹40 crore to Arun Bhai, a businessman dealing in solar energy equipment.

After the case was registered at Dadar police station on February 15, Arun Bhai and his son Manohar went absconding. Investigations revealed that Manohar helped his father escape and attempted to contact various individuals to arrange for hiding places. However, the EOW tracked him down and arrested him on Thursday. He will be produced before the court on Friday.

Meanwhile, a lookout circular has been issued against Arun Bhai. Mehta reportedly told investigators that Arun Bhai had promised to invest the money in two organizations.

Based on a complaint by the bank's acting CEO, Debarshi Ghosh, Dadar police registered a case under BNS sections 316(5) and 61(2). The EOW had earlier arrested Hitesh Mehta, the bank’s general manager, as the key conspirator, Dharmesh Paun, a construction businessman, who allegedly received ₹70 crore from Mehta and Abhimanyu Surender Bhuan, the former CEO of the bank, for ignoring irregularities despite being aware of them.

With Manohar Arunachalam’s arrest, the number of accused in the case has now risen to four. The investigation is ongoing to trace Arun Bhai and recover the misappropriated funds.