India's central bank said on Friday it has taken control of the board of New India Co-operative Bank for 12 months, a day after its depositors were barred from withdrawing money from the lender. The action,

Police suspect Mehta had an accomplice, and the case has now been transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for further investigation.

The Reserve Bank of India has constituted a Committee of Advisors to assist the administrator, comprising Ravindra Sapra, former General Manager at SBI, and Abhijeet Deshmukh, a Chartered Accountant.

Reserve Bank of India superseded the Board of Directors of New India Cooperative Bank Ltd, Mumbai, for a period of 12 months, the central bank said in a statement on Friday, a day after it imposed several restrictions on the lender.

RBI’s action was necessitated due to certain material concerns emanating from poor governance standards observed in the Mumbai-headquartered New India Co-operative Bank.

Hitesh Mehta, the general manager of New India Cooperative Bank, has been accused of hatching a criminal conspiracy and embezzling about Rs 122 crore along with an accomplice.

The RBI has superseded the Board of Directors of the Bank for 12 months. It has appointed Shreekant, former Chief General Manager (CGM) of SBI, as the Administrator to manage the bank’s affairs during the period.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on February 14 announced that it has superseded the board of directors of New India Co-operative Bank for a period of 12 months. This comes a day after the central bank barred the Mumbai-based bank from giving out new loans, accepting new deposits and more for a period of six months.

All requests for withdrawal of funds were turned down, with banners at branch gates saying deposits would be paid back in around 90 days

Panic gripped customers of New India Co-operative Bank after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed severe restrictions on withdrawals for six months due to concerns over the bank’s financial stability.