In the Rs122 crore New India Cooperative Bank scam case, the sixth accused, Ulhanathan Arunachalam alias Arunbhai, 62, surrendered at the Mumbai Police Commissioner’s office at 10.5am today. According to police investigations, Hitesh Mehta, the bank’s former GM and the prime accused, had given Rs40 crore to Arunachalam, allegedly for money laundering.
Arunachalam, an electrical contractor and company partner, first met Mehta in 2013 while working at the bank’s Prabhadevi branch. After the scam came to light, he fled Mumbai on February 16 and hid in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh while EOW officers tracked him. He later travelled from Kanyakumari to Pune before arriving in Mumbai via train. He then took a taxi from Dadar railway station to the Police Commissioner’s office, where EOW officers took him into custody.
Investigations revealed that Mehta had given Rs33 crore to Arunachalam in May 2019, followed by another Rs7 crore in multiple transactions, bringing the total to Rs40 crore. Arunachalam’s son, Manohar, allegedly laundered Rs12 crore through his company’s bank account, for which he was earlier arrested. Arunachalam has now claimed that he transferred the remaining funds to two persons – Pawan and Rajesh.
A senior EOW official said that police froze four bank accounts belonging to Arunachalam and two belonging to his son, Manohar. This financial strain likely forced Arunachalam to surrender. When arrested, he was carrying only a bag of clothes and had no mobile phone with him. The court sent him into police custody till March 18.
