Bank of India officer arrested for ₹16 crore fraud after 13-hour chase
Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested suspended Bank of India (BOI) officer Hitesh Singla, accused of misappropriating ₹16.10 crore from 127 customer accounts. He was caught in Ahmedabad after a 13-hour chase that spanned across states.
Singla, 32, had been missing since the fraud came to light. He was tracked down on the Ujjain–Veraval Mahamana Express, where officials said he kept shifting between coaches and seats to avoid detection. ED officers intercepted him when the train reached Ahmedabad early on Wednesday. He was later produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai, which remanded him to ED custody till Tuesday.
According to investigators, the fraud took place between May 2023 and July 2025. Singla allegedly closed fixed deposits, provident funds, senior citizen savings, current accounts, and dormant savings accounts without authorisation. The money was diverted in small instalments into his personal accounts in the State Bank of India to avoid suspicion.
Officials said he mainly targeted accounts of senior citizens, minors, deceased customers, and long-inactive account holders to keep the fraud hidden. “Through this method, Singla defrauded the Bank of India and its customers of ₹16.10 crore, causing serious financial and reputational damage,” an ED officer said.
ED teams received information on Tuesday that Singla was travelling on a sleeper-class ticket on the Mahamana Express. One team boarded the train at Godhra, while another flew from Mumbai to Ahmedabad to intercept him. Investigators found that Singla had upgraded to an AC coach mid-journey and kept changing seats. He was finally identified and arrested when the train reached Ahmedabad station.
The investigation began after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case on August 6, following a complaint from Om Prakash, deputy zonal manager of BOI. The FIR named Singla and possible accomplices under the Indian Penal Code, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Officials suspect that part of the siphoned funds may have been invested in the stock market. The ED is now tracing the money trail and has searched premises linked to an associate of the accused.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
