Joy Thomas (PTI photo)

MUMBAI: Joy Thomas , the suspended MD of the scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, led a double life. During his interrogation in lockup, he told the police that he converted to Islam in 2005 to marry his personal assistant, in whose name the police have found nine flats registered in Pune. Thomas is behind bars in the Rs 4,355-crore PMC Bank cheating case, along with real estate group HDIL's promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and son Sarang, and the bank's former chairman Waryam Singh.

"Thomas was married and had a family, yet developed a relationship with his PA. In 2005, she quit her job saying she was getting married and shifting to Dubai . That was the last anyone in the bank heard of her," said an officer. "Evidently, she shifted to Pune, and her husband, Joy, who became Junaid to marry her, started shuttling between the city and Mumbai. We are looking into how she bought the Pune properties. If we find that these were bought through the proceeds of crime, we will attach the properties, which are estimated to have a combined worth of Rs 4 crore."

During his interrogation, Thomas, now 62, told the police that his Islamic name Junaid wasn't in any financial records, and officially, he continued to be Joy Thomas. "It seems it was a conversion of convenience for him," said an officer.

The police earlier identified and attached four flats owned by Thomas in Mumbai and Thane. One is registered in the name of his son from his first wife. "He and his second wife had adopted a girl, who is now 11 years old. They also have a 10-year-old son. The second wife makes and sells chocolates, has a boutique, and draws rent from the Pune properties," said an officer.

Thomas's first wife, upon learning about his double life, filed for divorce.

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