India, March 1 -- Hiren Bhanu and wife Gauri, former chairperson and vice-chairperson of New India Cooperative Bank, respectively, have been named as accused in the case relating to the alleged misappropriation of Rs.122 crore from the scheduled cooperative bank's cash reserves. The fraud surfaced earlier this month.

The Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police investigating the case says that Hiren and Gauri Bhanu were beneficiaries of the funds misappropriated by the main accused, Hitesh Mehta, general manager of the bank.

Police said Hiren's father Ranjit - a lawyer, trade unionist and a former MLA - was one of the founders of the bank. They said Hiren, a British national, is suspected to have fled the country on January 26, 2025,...