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New India Cooperative Bank Scam: Dharmesh Paun Claims He Received ₹2 Crore From Hitesh Mehta, Returned ₹1.50 Crore

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Mumbai: In a fresh twist to the New India Cooperative Bank ₹122 crore scam, accused Dharmesh Paun has claimed that he received ₹2 crore from main accused Hitesh Mehta, but later returned ₹1.50 crore. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) suspects that Paun misappropriated ₹70 crore for an SRA project in Kandivali’s Charkop area.

Investigators have raised concerns as Paun’s ₹300 crore SRA project is on collector’s land, and he has not secured a bank loan due to land ownership restrictions. Typically, builders take loans for such projects, but EOW has found no loan-related documents in Paun’s possession.

In December 2016, Paun registered his company Dharmesh LLP and began the Charkop SRA project in 2018. In 2016, Paun sold a flat to Mehta, who later resold it to a third party. This marked the beginning of their association. Hitesh Mehta joined New India Cooperative Bank in 1988 as an accountant and has two children, one of whom is preparing for CA exams.

A senior EOW official has revealed that they plan to summon the bank’s internal and concurrent auditors. Eow has seized CCTV footage of last three weeks. The key question: How did Mehta siphon off ₹122 crore in small amounts over five years without auditors noticing?

Further suspicions arose when, on February 12, RBI officials conducted an inspection and discovered that ₹122 crore was missing from the bank’s locker.

However, instead of filing a complaint, the Acting Chief Executive Officer, Devarsi Ghosh, lodged the FIR at Dadar Police Station. If RBI officials found discrepancies in the locker funds, why didn’t they file the complaint themselves? The investigation continues.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police is investigating the scam, which involves siphoning off ₹122 crore from the bank’s funds. Hitesh Mehta, the former General Manager and Head of Accounts, was arrested earlier for his alleged role in diverting the money to multiple beneficiaries.

In the ongoing probe into the ₹122 crore fraud at New India Cooperative Bank, key accused Hitesh Mehta has admitted to diverting ₹70 crore to Dharmesh Paun and ₹40 crore to Arunbhai. During interrogation, Mehta revealed that he had funded Paun’s SRA project in Charkop with ₹70 crore.

However, no official documentation exists to support this transaction. So EOW officer will retrieve the WhatsApp message history of both accused.

Meanwhile, Dharmesh Paun has denied receiving such a large sum and has instead claimed that he only took ₹2 crore from Mehta, out of which he returned ₹1.50 crore. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is investigating this conflicting narrative and verifying the financial trail.

Crime

Palghar Crime: Group Brutally Assaults 24-Year-Old Man Near Moregaon Talao In Nalasopara; Attempt-To-Murder Case Registered

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Palghar, Maharashtra: Police have registered a case of attempt to murder after a 24-year-old man was brutally assaulted late Saturday night near Moregaon Talao in Nalasopara (East).

FIR Details and Identity of Victim

According to the FIR lodged at Tulinj Police Station, the victim, identified as Pratik Prasad Waghe (24), was attacked around 11:30–11:50 p.m. on August 23 by a group of men following a dispute related to a woman.

The complainant, Pritam Dike (34), a relative of the victim, told police that the accused, identified as Bhushan Patil, Sanket Patil, Swarup Meher, and 4–5 unidentified men, cornered Waghe near the Vasai-Virar Municipal Hospital, and assaulted him with fists and blows aimed at his head. The attackers also abused him and allegedly tried to kill him during the assault.

Two Arrested, Hunt for Others Continues

Police have arrested Bhushan Patil and Sanket Patil, while the search is on for the remaining accused. The case has been registered under sections 109, 189(1), 189(2), 191(2), 190 and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

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Crime

Palghar News: Chemistry Teacher Arrested Under POCSO For Sexual Assaulting Teen Student In Nallasopara

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Palghar: Another shocking incident of a teacher sexually assaulting a teen student has come forward from Palghar. Authorities have taken a teacher into custody for supposedly assaulting a 16-year-old female student at a private tutoring centre in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, an official stated on Monday.

As per the victim’s report, the 42-year-old suspect, a Chemistry instructor at the coaching centre in the Nalla Sopara region, summoned her for an additional class on Saturday afternoon and took her to his office at the facility, where he purportedly assaulted her, the official stated, as reported by PTI.

The following day, the instructor tried to photograph the victim in class, but she evaded it, stated the official from Nalla Sopara police station. Her parents soon reached the class, seized the accused, and delivered him to the police. The victim claimed that the accused had previously made advances toward her as well, PTI reported.

According to the complaint, the suspect was apprehended on Sunday and charged under section 74 (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with the intention to insult her modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with clauses of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the police reported.

Another Incident

A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped multiple times by five individuals over three months in central Mumbai. Police arrested a 25-year-old man and detained four juveniles related to the case. The situation came to light when the girlfriend of one accused confronted the victim.

After her parents checked her phone and discovered videos and messages about the relationship, they reported the matter to the police. A case was filed against the accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

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Crime

CBI dismantles transnational cybercrime network targeting US nationals, three arrested

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New Delhi, Aug 25: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), under its ongoing Operation Chakra-IV, has dismantled a sophisticated cybercrime network that defrauded US nationals of nearly $40 million and arrested three key accused, an agency statement said.

The action was carried out in close coordination with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The arrested have been identified as Jigar Ahmed, Yash Khurana, and Inder Jeet Singh Bali.

According to the CBI, between 2023 and 2025, the accused gained unauthorised remote access to victims’ systems and bank accounts by posing as tech support providers.

They convinced US-based victims that their accounts were compromised and manipulated them into transferring money to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by the gang, the statement said.

The CBI registered the case on August 18 and launched extensive searches across Amritsar and Delhi. A major breakthrough came when investigators raided an illegal call centre — Digikaps The Future of Digital — being run at Global Tower, opposite Khalsa College for Women, Amritsar. At the site, 34 people were caught red-handed while engaged in cyber fraud activities.

The searches led to the seizure of 85 hard disks, 16 laptops, 44 mobile phones, incriminating digital evidence, and Rs 54 lakh in cash. Documents and additional electronic devices linked to the fraud were also recovered.

CBI investigations revealed that the accused had been funnelling proceeds of crime through cryptocurrency transactions.

Further operations are underway to trace the money trail and identify other members of the transnational cyber-enabled financial crime network, the agency said.

The probe is also pursuing international leads in coordination with Interpol and other foreign law enforcement agencies, the statement added.

The CBI noted that Operation Chakra-IV has significantly disrupted and dismantled this organised cybercrime syndicate.

Investigation into the broader network and on international leads is ongoing.

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