New India Co-op Bank case: Police get nod to attach ₹168 crore assets

In the first such instance in the city after the new criminal laws came into force, a court has allowed the police to attach 21 properties worth ₹167.85 crore of five accused in the alleged case of embezzlement at the New India Co-operative Bank.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police which is probing the case has started the process of attachment after receiving a magistrate court's nod on Wednesday, said an official. These properties include a Slum Rehabilitation Project worth ₹150 crore at Charkop, being developed by builder Dharmesh Paun, one of the arrested accused.  This would be the first such action under section 107 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in Mumbai city, the EOW official said. The section allows the police to attach any property "derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of a criminal activity". In response to the EOW's application, the court allowed the attachment of 21 properties including seven flats, a shop and a bungalow of Hitesh Mehta, a former general manager of the bank, he said.  Other properties include a shop of Unnahalathan Arunachalam, a flat owned by accused Kapil Dedia and property in Bihar belonging to businessman Javed Azam including a shop and a flat in Madhubani and a flat in Patna, the official said. All these persons are among the eight accused arrested by the EOW for alleged embezzlement of ₹122 crore from the bank.