Pune: Aman Kamleshbhai Hemani, a key accused in the ₹145 crore Samata Cooperative Bank scam in Nagpur, was arrested after evading authorities for 17 years.

The arrest was made by a team from the Maharashtra State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) based in Pune, who tracked Hemani down to a five-star hotel in Delhi's Vasant Kunj area.

The Samata Cooperative Bank scam, which took place between 1997 and 2007, involved a conspiracy led by the bank's president, vice-president, board of directors, and borrowers Aman and Rajshree Hemani.

The group allegedly embezzled ₹145.60 crores, leading to criminal charges being filed against 57 individuals at the Sitabuldi Police Station in Nagpur. The case has been under investigation by the CID in Nagpur.

Aman Hemani, now 52, had been a fugitive since the case was registered, living under different aliases and frequently changing his location across cities like Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi.

Despite a warrant issued by a special court, Hemani remained at large, avoiding court appearances and continuing to elude law enforcement.

CID's Additional Director General of Police formed a special investigation team. Acting on intelligence, the team located Hemani at a luxury hotel in Delhi, where he was apprehended.

Hemani has since been transferred to the custody of the CID team in Nagpur for further investigation. The operation was led by CID Additional Director General of Police Prashant Burde and Police Superintendent Vaishali Mane, with critical contributions from Assistant Police Inspector Praveen Bhosale and officers Vikas Koli, Sunil Bansode, and Pradeep Chavan.