E-Paper
Three co-operative society staffers held for involvement in ₹6.78 crore fraud
PUNE The officials of economic offences wing of Pune crime branch have arrested three staff members of Dhankawadi-based credit co-operative society for alleged involvement in ₹6
PUNE The officials of economic offences wing of Pune crime branch have arrested three staff members of Dhankawadi-based credit co-operative society for alleged involvement in ₹6.78 crore fraud.
The arrests were made by Bhagyashree Navtake, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), economic offences wing, Pune crime branch and Anita More, senior police officer, on Friday.
The fraud took place at Adarsh Nagri Sahakari Patsanstha, Dhankwadi, between 1999 and 2018 wherein at least 161 depositors were cheated.
The arrested accused have been identified as Kashinath Kerba Bansode, manager; Gautam Nana Jogdand, cashier and Shankar Satva Jogdand, clerk.
A first information report (FIR) was lodged after Vilas Katkar, divisional special auditor, co-operative department, filed a complaint against the credit co-operative society staff.
A special sessions court under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, 1999 had earlier rejected the anticipatory bail applications of eight accused in the case. The case was then transferred to the economic offences wing.
The five others accused in the case are identified as Krishnarao Bandal, director, secretary; Madhukar Bandal, director; Mohan Shinde, director; Kusum Deshmukh, director and Swati Umrani, accountant.
According to the complaint, the bank directors, chairman and their relatives allegedly committed the fraud between 1999 and January 2018.
The FIR lodged at Sahakarnagar police station states that the accused withdrew bank funds for their personal use and purchased lands at different places and misappropriated a total of ₹47,09,81,758 crore belonging to the account holders.
The FIR has been lodged under Sections 420 (cheating) and 465, 466, 467, 468, and 471(forgery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act against a total of 63 people.
The police have also invoked Sections 3 and 4 of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act against the three accused who are currently in custody.
