City crime branch recently caught an 85-year-old man from Kandivali in Mumbai for his alleged involvement in the 2001 multi-crore scam in Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank (MMCB) of Ahmedabad.
The accused, Devendra Pandya, was managing director of the bank, which became defunct in June 2012 after it failed to repay nearly INR 15 trillion of depositors. CID (crime) had in December 2022 announced a reward of INR 25,000 for Pandya, who was on the run for a decade. "Pandya was first arrested by the CID (crime) in 2002, in connection with 70-odd cases of cheating.He was released on bail in 2012.Later, CID (crime) named him as an accused in seven other cases,” said an officer of city crime branch. The officer said Pandya left his house at Dutt Society near the Ramji Temple in Paldi soon. after he was released on bail. He left his phone at home and went to his daughter's place in Kandivali.
As he could not be traced by CID (crime) for a decade, the agency issued a reward for information on him. After the reward was announced, a city crime branch team began an investigation and learned that his daughter stayed in Kandivali.