New India Co-Operative Bank case: Mumbai BJP leader`s brother held by EOW

In a major development in the Rs 122 crore embezzlement case involving the New India Cooperative (NIC) Bank, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested a Mumbai BJP leader`s brother, an official said on Monday.

The officials said that Haji Javed Azam, the younger brother of BJP’s former Maharashtra secretary Hyder Azam, was arrested in the matter.

Azam was taken into custody late Monday evening after his name surfaced during the interrogation of Unnathan Arunachalam, alias Arun Bhai, who was arrested on Saturday.

Political Connection Unveiled

Arunachalam was apprehended from the Crawford Market area, and during questioning, reportedly admitted to receiving ₹32 crore from Hitesh Mehta in 2021. Of this amount, Arunachalam claimed to have handed over Rs 15–20 crore to Javed Azam for safekeeping.

Financial Trail and Evidence

The EOW has gathered circumstantial evidence to support Arunachalam’s statements. Investigators discovered that Hitesh Mehta had withdrawn ₹18 crore from two separate banks, where the money was held as fixed deposits (FDs), before giving it to Arunachalam. Instead of being deposited in the NIC Bank, the funds were diverted to Arunachalam, while official records falsely stated that the cash was secured in the bank’s vault.

Business Investment Angle

The EOW is now scrutinizing Azam’s financial transactions and looking into whether his political connections played a role in concealing the crime. It is suspected that he invested the money in his business in Bihar.