Jalna co-op bank GM goes from complainant to accused in Rs 23cr fraud case, arrested

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In a twist in the Rs 23.3 crore fraud at the Jalna Merchant Cooperative Bank, the complainant himself has been arrested as an accused, with the Economic Offences Wing of the Jalna police taking the bank's general manager, Rajendra Toksha, into custody for his alleged role in the scam. A local court has remanded him in police custody till Monday.The case, registered on April 15 at the Chandanzira police station, pertains to the alleged siphoning of Rs23.3 crore through 177 fake bank accounts opened in the name of a warehouse using forged documents. Given the scale of the fraud and suspected internal involvement, the investigation was handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for a detailed probe, Jalna superintendent of police Ajaykumar Bansal said."The magnitude of the embezzlement and the systematic creation of multiple fake accounts pointed towards internal complicity. Our investigation has revealed crucial evidence in this regard," Bansal said.Additional SP Ayush Nopany said the fake accounts were opened using forged documents in a planned manner to siphon funds, and the role of bank officials was closely examined. "We have gathered sufficient evidence indicating the involvement of the general manager," he said.Investigators said Toksha's alleged role surfaced during the interrogation of a previously arrested accused, the scrutiny of bank records, and the examination of officials. Based on documentary and corroborative evidence, he was arrested.EOW assistant inspector Mithun Ghuge said the probe so far suggests that the complainant was not only aware of the fraudulent transactions but was also involved in them. "Custodial interrogation is underway to trace the money trail and identify other beneficiaries," he said, adding that more arrests are likely.Police had earlier arrested the alleged mastermind, Raichand Kurangal, along with his associates — Nileshwar Bhosale (46) of Sindkhed Raja in Buldhana district, Rameshwar Jadhav, Dnyaneshwar Jadhav, and Sudhakar Thombre.The FIR has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including sections 316(2), 318(4), 336(3), 338, 340(2), 61(2) and 3(5) pertaining to criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy.