The Valsad police have arrested the former manager of Vapi branch of Dena Bank from Jharkhand, and four others, for their alleged role in selling the shutdown factories in Vapi GIDC to different parties on fake documents.

The manager, R K Mishra, and his team members had cheated different parties to the tune of Rs 13.50 crore. Two managers of Dena Bank will be arrested in the coming days for their involvement in the fraud, said the police.

According to sources, Shivanand a resident of Vapi, had purchased a closed factory at Vapi GIDC worth Rs 2.45 crore from Rajkumar Shrivastav, another Vapi resident, a couple of months ago. Shrivastav had somehow procured the stationary materials of the bank on which he had shown that the property was mortgaged with the bank and was kept for sale.

Shrivastav showed the bank written letter to Shivanand to gain his confidence and also explained to him that he had good relations with the bank officials. Shrivastav also promised to make the deal successful at cheaper rates.

Shivanand purchased the property a month ago and later while checking the documents with the government offices at Vapi GIDC, realised that he had been cheated. The property was in the name of another party and not with the bank.

He contacted Shrivastav who failed to give satisfactory answers, after which he contacted the Vapi GIDC police station and lodged a complaint against him.

The police started investigations and arrested Shrivastav on March 6. During the course of interrogation, the police learnt about Mishra, who had left the job and was at his native place in Jharkhand.

A team of Gujarat Police officers left for Jharkhand and arrested Mishra. The team returned to Vapi on Sunday. On the statements of Mishra, the police later arrested Shrivastav’s wife Meenadevi, Jagdish Vohra of Valsad and Ankit Bhatt of Vyara taluka in Tapi district.

Valsad Local Crime Branch Inspector R V Rabari said: “After preliminary investigation, we have found that the team of fraudsters had sold a total of four closed factories to the tune of Rs 13.50 crore, with the same modus operandi. We have also found the involvement of Dena Bank’s Surat division Zampabazaar manager Ranbeer Singh and assistant manager of Mandvi branch Arun Talukdar.”