India, Feb. 26 -- The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has uncovered financial irregularities at New India Cooperative Bank, where cash reserves far exceeded the bank's authorised storage capacity. An investigation on Tuesday revealed that while the bank's safes could officially hold only Rs.20 crore, records showed it had accumulated a staggering Rs.133.41 crore in cash.

The fraud came to light after a surprise inspection by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on February 12, which found Rs.122.28 crore missing from the bank's safes. A subsequent police probe revealed that Hitesh Pravinchand Mehta, 57, the former general manager and head of accounts, had allegedly siphoned off Rs.122 crore (approximately $14.7 million USD) between 2020 and 2025...