A man has been arrested for allegedly stealing Rs 21 lakh from his NRI brother’s bank account over a year. His wife, an alleged partner in the crime, is absconding.

“We arrested Ashok Roy, a resident of Indu Biswas Road, on June 24, after receiving a formal complaint from his brother Subroto Roy,” said Hiren Das, officer-in-charge of Shakespeare Sarani police station.

Subroto, who is settled in Texas, was operating a savings bank account from Calcutta, and had authorised his brother Ashok to maintain the account.

“He arrived in Calcutta in March to discover that Ashok had been siphoning off money from his account,” said the officer.

Ashok, who dealt in share brokerage and investments, regularly withdrew money for a year to buy himself a car and a house in Salt Lake.

“He also kept transferring a considerable amount to wife Mahasweta’s account, through cheques bearing his signature,” the officer said.

Subroto didn’t want his brother arrested, but after several domestic squabbles — in which Ashok’s wife Mahasweta vehemently defended her husband — he lodged a complaint with the police.

“We suspect Ashok’s wife to be a party to the crime. We hope to arrest her soon,” said an officer of Shakespeare Sarani thana.