Mumbai, Mar 8 (UNI) The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city police has issued a Blue Corner notice against former chairman and acting vice-chairman of New India Cooperative Bank for their alleged involvement in the Rs 122 crore scam, officials said here on Saturday.
Investigators have traced Hiren Bhanu, the alleged mastermind and former chairman of the bank, to Abu Dhabi and his wife Gauri, the acting vice-chairman of Bank, to Thailand, leading to issuance of the said notice.
The EOW had initially issued a lookout circular. Now, with confirmed foreign locations, the alert has been issued.
According to legal experts, notices are international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information while the Blue notice is to collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.
Now, with confirmed foreign locations, the alert has been issued.
The Blue Corner notice will help track Bhanus’ locations, monitor their activities, and facilitate their arrest.
According to sources in EOW, the duo fled abroad just before the scam was exposed.
As per the probe, Hitesh Mehta, the bank's general manager, executed the fraud under instructions of the Bhanu couple.
UNI AAA SS