The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Andaman & Nicobar Police on Thursday secured three-day police custody of Sanjay Lal, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing probe into the alleged ₹500-crore Andaman & Nicobar State Cooperative Bank (ANSCB) misappropriation case. Lal, who was brought from judicial custody, was produced before the Sessions Court and handed over to CID officers after prosecutors filed a request for custodial interrogation.
Despite being named in the CID FIR, Lal had not been arrested by the local police until now, even as several major accused were taken into custody months earlier, including former MP Kuleep Rai Sharma, K. Murugan, multiple bank officials, and businessmen. The delay drew attention because Lal features prominently in ED findings, forensic audit trails, and internal documents reviewed by The Wave Andaman. Police sources told The Wave Andaman that a supplementary charge sheet could be filed in this matter.
People familiar with the investigation said CID officers intend to question Lal on his alleged role in securing fraudulent loans, the flow of funds across multiple accounts and his financial links with other accused persons. Lal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 22 in a parallel PMLA probe connected to a ₹200-crore loan component of the wider ANSCB scandal and has since remained in judicial custody. According to ED documents reviewed earlier by The Wave Andaman, Lal allegedly procured large loans by manipulating bank records and later routed the money through intermediaries and shell fronts. The ED charge sheet has also pointed to the fact that Lal diverted close to ₹150 crore of bank funds to his personal accounts and used the money to set up a sprawling real estate and hospitality empire spanning across the Andaman Islands. Properties linked to him in Sri Vijaya Puram and Havelock Island are under scrutiny.
Court filings and ED records show that the agency has named several individuals and multiple companies in its prosecution complaint, indicating a broad investigation into suspected fund diversion, irregular loan approvals, and the alleged use of shell entities. Those examined include former Member of Parliament Kuleep Rai Sharma, former ANSCB Managing Director K. Murugan, K. Kalaivanan, Sanjay Lal, Sanjeev Lal, Raghubir Singh, T. Vinod, Vinita Sharma, and J. Sasi Kumar. Forensic audits have flagged circular deals, overlapping ownership patterns, and unexplained cash flows, prompting investigators to seek additional financial and digital data.
All accused individuals remain in judicial custody.
CID officers are now expected to focus on criminal conspiracy, cheating, breach of trust and systemic lapses within ANSCB that may have enabled the alleged fraud. Further developments, including whether CID seeks extended remand or makes additional arrests, are expected over the coming days as both agencies continue parallel but coordinated investigations
