Indian police arrest CE, director of state-run bank over loans

MUMBAI: Indian police arrested the chief executive and an executive director of state-run Bank of Maharashtra on Wednesday, accusing them of misusing their authority in making loans to a property developer.

Authorities have stepped up scrutiny of the state banking sector after a more than $2 billion fraud unearthed in Punjab National Bank, the second-largest state-run lender, this year. Bank of Maharashtra Chief Executive Officer Ravindra Marathe and an executive director, Rajendra Gupta, were among six people arrested, police said.

Among the rest are Sushil Muhnot, a former chairman and managing director of the bank, a manager at the bank, and a chartered accountant and an employee of DS Kulkarni Developers Ltd (DSKDL), police said. "Bank officers colluded with DSKDL by misusing their power and authority with dishonest and fraudulent intention," the police said in a statement.