A prominent Bhilai-based chartered accountant, Rakesh Prithvilal Dhody, was arrested by crime branch officials for his alleged involvement in the Rs five crore Himani Group and Nagpur Mahila Sahakari Bank cheating case and remanded to police custody till September 30. | |
| Dhody had complained of chest pain when the police reached Bhilai to arrest him. He was admitted to the civil hospital, Durg, and was discharged on Sunday night following which the police brought him to Nagpur on Monday. |
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| A team of crime branch, led by additional commissioner of police (crime) Dalbir Bharati, produced Dhody before JMFC Nagalkar. ACP Bharati is the investigation officer (IO) in the case as the high court here had instructed that an officer not below the rank of a deputy commissioner of police should undertake the investigations into the case. |
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| Bharati informed the court that Dhody, who was the auditor of Dena Bank's Bhilai branch, had helped prime accused Aman and Rajashree Hemani of the Hemani Group, to open an account through their accomplice Kishor Nimje. |
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| The prescribed application form for opening a new account in Dena Bank was filled by Dhody. He got an acquaintance, Sudha Jain, wife of a noted doctor at Bhilai, to introduce Nimje and Aman Hemani to the bank. |
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| Jain had signed the bank documents on the assurance of Dhody. The court was also informed that the police verified the bank account of Dhody and found that Hemani had given Rs one lakh to him. |
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| Bharati said that the police wanted to interrogate the accused to ascertain the links between Dhody, the Hemanis and officials of Dena Bank and Mahila Bank for the transactions. |
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| Against this background, Bharati argued that the accused Dhody be remanded to a seven day police custody for interrogation. |
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| Defence counsel Shyam Dewani strongly opposed the grounds cited by the IO for seeking police custody of the accused. Dewani argued that Dhody was a prominent CA and was not the main accused. His contention was that the accused Dhody would have helped Nimje and Hemani in good faith for opening an account in Dena Bank. |
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| The defence counsel said that the prime accused in the case, Aman and Rajashree Hemani, themselves were given an interim stay on their anticipatory bail application. And therefore, he said, there is hardly any need to remand Dhody to police custody. |
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| After hearing both the sides, the court remanded Dhody to police custody till September 30. |
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| Interestingly, the crime branch which is following the case has found that the Hemanis had over 20 different bank accounts maintained with various PSU and private banks. |
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