The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has approached the Killa Court seeking permission for a lie detector test on Hitesh Pravinchandra Mehta, the General Manager of New India Co-operative Bank. Mehta is accused of embezzling ₹122 crore from the bank’s Prabhadevi and Goregaon branches. The application for the test was officially submitted on Friday.
Once the court grants permission, the lie detector test will be conducted to gather crucial information regarding the financial irregularities. This is reportedly the first time in two decades that such a test is being conducted on an accused in an economic fraud case.
Meanwhile, three other individuals, including the bank’s former chairman Hiren Bhanu, his wife, and the bank’s vice president, have been declared wanted accused in the case. Additionally, police have also announced a reward for information leading to the arrest of Unnathan Arunachalam alias Arunbhai.
The Dadar Police had initially registered a case in connection with the ₹122 crore financial fraud in the New India Co-operative Bank. The case was later transferred to the Economic Offences Wing for further investigation.
Following the FIR, the police arrested Hitesh Mehta and builder Dharmesh Jayantilal Poun, who are currently in judicial custody. During interrogation, the name of Unnathan Arunachalam alias Arunbhai surfaced as a key suspect.
Mehta confessed that out of the embezzled ₹122 crore, he handed over ₹70 crore to builder Dharmesh Poun and ₹40 crore to Arunbhai. The funds were reportedly used for an SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority) project in Kandivali’s Charkop area and Arunbhai’s solar panel business.
However, Dharmesh Poun has denied receiving ₹70 crore from Mehta. He claims that he only received ₹2-3 crore, which he later returned to Mehta. The conflicting statements from the accused have created confusion in the investigation. Dharmesh has further alleged that Mehta is misleading the police by providing false information.
Given the inconsistencies in their statements, the Mumbai Police decided to conduct a lie detector test on Mehta. After completing all necessary legal formalities, the Economic Offences Wing filed an application in the Killa Court on Friday.
If the court grants permission, Mehta will be subjected to a lie detector test soon. The test will focus on key questions such as when and how was the scam executed? Who were the other accomplices involved? How were the funds siphoned off?Who received the money, and in what amounts?
The results of the test are expected to bring crucial revelations in the high-profile financial fraud case. The police are now awaiting the court’s decision to proceed further.