ED arrests four in Co-op bank fraud case

Patna: In a new twist to the alleged multi-crore loan fraud case, involving a private cooperative bank in Vaishali district, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested four people, including a former CEO. The arrest followed the money laundering investigation linked to alleged embezzlement of funds at a Bihar cooperative bank promoted by former RJD minister, official sources said on Sunday.The arrest came a day after the ED conducted searches at 19 places connected to former RJD minister Alok Kumar Mehta in Bihar, Delhi, Kolkata and Uttar Pradesh. Mehta, who is considered close to RJD president Lalu Prasad, held many significant posts in the party and the govt. Contacted over the phone, Mehta refused to comment saying he is out of Patna.Those arrested included bank's former CEO Vipin Tiwari, his father-in-law Ram Babu Shandilya, Nitin Mehra and Sandeep Singh, the last two being businessmen. Soon after their arrest, the accused were produced before a PMLA court here and remanded to judicial custody, the sources said.Describing the searches as "politically motivated", the RJD alleged that the raids in the election year speak a lot. "The NDA has been facing tough challenges from the RJD, and the ED raids are aimed at terrorising the opposition leaders and tarnishing their image, but that is not going to help the ruling alliance," RJD's chief spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav alleged. Patna: In a new twist to the alleged multi-crore loan fraud case, involving a private cooperative bank in Vaishali district, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested four people, including a former CEO. The arrest followed the money laundering investigation linked to alleged embezzlement of funds at a Bihar cooperative bank promoted by former RJD minister, official sources said on Sunday.The arrest came a day after the ED conducted searches at 19 places connected to former RJD minister Alok Kumar Mehta in Bihar, Delhi, Kolkata and Uttar Pradesh. Mehta, who is considered close to RJD president Lalu Prasad, held many significant posts in the party and the govt. Contacted over the phone, Mehta refused to comment saying he is out of Patna.Those arrested included bank's former CEO Vipin Tiwari, his father-in-law Ram Babu Shandilya, Nitin Mehra and Sandeep Singh, the last two being businessmen. Soon after their arrest, the accused were produced before a PMLA court here and remanded to judicial custody, the sources said.Describing the searches as "politically motivated", the RJD alleged that the raids in the election year speak a lot. "The NDA has been facing tough challenges from the RJD, and the ED raids are aimed at terrorising the opposition leaders and tarnishing their image, but that is not going to help the ruling alliance," RJD's chief spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav alleged.