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Chandigarh: In a major development in the ₹150 crore Municipal Corporation (MC) Panchkula scam, the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) on Wednesday arrested Pushpender Singh after he surrendered before the agency.
Singh, who earlier served as deputy vice president of Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Sector 11 branch in Panchkula, is the sixth accused in the case involving alleged siphoning of civic body funds through fraudulent banking operations.
According to investigators, the scam revolves around discrepancies in 16 fixed deposits (FDs) of MC Panchkula worth ₹145.03 crore, with a maturity value of ₹158.02 crore. When the corporation approached the bank for encashment, the records provided did not match either internally or with official MC documents, triggering the probe.
The SV&ACB has informed the court that former Senior Accounts Officer Vikas Kaushik, in alleged collusion with Pushpender Singh, orchestrated the fraud by opening two fake bank accounts in the name of MC Panchkula in 2020 and 2022. These accounts were created using forged seals and signatures of senior civic officials, including the then MC Commissioner and Deputy Municipal Commissioner.
The probe further revealed that fraudulent RTGS/NEFT debit notes were generated to prematurely liquidate genuine FD accounts. The funds were then diverted into the fake accounts—numbered 2015073031 and 2046279112—and subsequently transferred to personal accounts.
Investigators stated that the siphoned funds were routed through multiple beneficiaries, including Rajat Dahra and Swati Tomar, before ultimately being channelled towards various builders, indicating a larger conspiracy and financial network.
“Through forged signatures and fabricated debit notes, the accused transferred proceeds from genuine MC accounts into fraudulent accounts and further diverted them for personal and third-party gains,” the agency submitted before the court.
With multiple arrests already made, the investigation is now focused on tracing the complete money trail, identifying additional beneficiaries, and uncovering the full extent of collusion within the banking and civic systems.
