Ahmedabad, May 21: A local court in Anand has issued an arrest warrant against BJP MP Deepak Patel Saathi for allegedly defrauding the Charotar Cooperative Bank, reports our correspondent. Chimanbhai Patel, Deepak’s father and also the chairman of the bank, is already behind bars since last November.

The duo owes the bank Rs 41 crore. The Anand sessions court issued the warrant yesterday after the high court rejected the BJP leader’s anticipatory bail plea last Friday. Harried depositors had approached the local court against Deepak.

Deepak had borrowed Rs 5 crore from the bank for upgrading the machinery of his newspaper Naya Padkar, a leading local daily, and did not repay the amount. Chimanbhai had also reportedly disbursed over Rs 36 crore as loan to his relatives, which was not repaid, leading to a liquidity crisis.