Surjit Singh Narang, one of the directors of scam-hit Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank, has claimed in his pre-arrest bail plea in a court that he was not aware of the loans given by the bank to the HDIL group. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police has arrested five people in the Rs 4,355 crore PMC Bank scam, including promoters of the realty group HDIL and top bank officials.

Narang, 71, has filed an anticipatory bail application before additional sessions judge S T Soor. The FIR registered by the EOW did not name him, but it was "wide enough" to include him, his plea said. He was one of the promoters and shareholders of the bank, but not involved in its "day-to-day operations", it said. He was not aware of the loans given to HDIL, and there was nothing to show that he was connected with alleged "falsification of records and concealment of information" (to hide these loans), Narang said.