NEW DELHI: Two directors of Bhojpuri television broadcasting company Mahuaa Media were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation here today for allegedly using forged documents to procure loans of nearly Rs 1 billion from three nationalised banks.

Directors PK Tewari and Anand Tewari were arrested following complaints by the banks for allegedly producing fake invoices and Chartered Accountant certificates to secure Rs 340 million loan from each one of three banks, sources said.

The two will be produced before the district court at Patiala House here in connection with the case.

The case was registered by the agency in January 2012 on complaints from Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, and Union Bank of India which were allegedly cheated by the directors, they said.

Sources said the loan was procured for the expansion of the company. Mahuaa Media runs a clutch of channels including two Bhojpuri channels, Mahuaa and Mahuaa News, Bengali news channel Mahuaa Khobor (it closed Bengali GEC Mahuaa Bangla) and Mahuaa Newsline, a channel targeted at the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand region.

A consortium of seven to eight banks, including Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, have lent Rs 17-18 billion to Century and its associate companies. Of this, Rs 6-7 billion has turned sticky.