Chandigarh:- The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau on Wednesday took Kotak Mahindra Bank Deputy Vice-President Pushpinder Singh into custody after he surrendered in connection with a Rs 150 crore scam. Pushpinder Singh was posted as the branch manager of Kotak Mahindra Bank in Sector 11, Panchkula, from where the funds of the Municipal Corporation Panchkula were allegedly withdrawn.
Sources said that Pushpinder surrendered before the Vigilance Bureau and has been taken into custody for questioning. He is the sixth accused in the case.
According to the FIR, the Municipal Corporation had 16 FDs worth Rs 145.03 crore in the Sector 11 branch, the total value of which was Rs 158.02 crore when they were due. Out of these, 11 FDs worth Rs 59.58 crore had matured on February 16. When the Corporation spoke to the bank about this, the statements of the bank officials neither matched each other nor did they match the records of the Corporation, especially the records of FDs were in big error. According to the information given in the court by the Vigilance Department, former Accounts Officer of Panchkula Corporation Vikas Kaushik had allegedly opened two fake bank accounts in the name of the Municipal Corporation in collusion with Pushpinder Singh (who was then Deputy Vice-President in Kotak Mahindra Bank) and had misappropriated the funds.