Adarsh Scam: Chairman Mankape arrested in Rs 202 crore fraud case

Ambadas Mankape, the chairman of Adarsh Nagri Sahkari Patsanstha, has been arrested by the Cidco police on Friday night. He has been accused of involvement in fraudulent activities, including irregularities, cheating, and misappropriation of depositors' funds totalling Rs 202 crore within the cooperative credit society.

These illicit activities have been alleged to have occurred between 2016 and 2023.

After receiving information, the police discovered that the alleged offender Mankape was residing in a lodge located in the Golwadi area of the south city. Subsequently, they apprehended him from the same lodge. Chairman Ambadas Mankape has been unaccounted for since the embezzlement case was reported on July 10.

Several depositors had lodged complaints with the police and approached the bank to seek restitution for their funds. However, Mankape remained inaccessible, and subsequently, he was apprehended by the Cidco police on Friday.

According to reports, Dhananjay Chavan and Sudhakar Gayke, special auditors of the Cooperative Department, have filed separate complaints. Chavan conducted the audit for the period from 2016 to 2019, while Gayke conducted the audit from 2018 to 2022. Subsequently, Chavan filed a complaint amounting to Rs 103 crore, and Gayke filed a complaint for Rs 99 crore.

The complaint includes 50 individuals who have been implicated in the case along with Mankape. The investigation of the case is being conducted by Police Inspector Sambhaji Pawar.