Panchkula: The Haryana Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday arrested former senior accounts officer of the Panchkula municipal corporation, Vikas Kaushik, in connection with the alleged Rs 145-crore fraud involving fixed deposits of the civic body parked with Kotak Mahindra Bank.Another key accused, Pushpendra, a manager at Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sector 11, Panchkula, is absconding. The ACB has launched efforts to trace and apprehend him.According to the investigating agency, Kaushik, who was posted as a section officer with the municipal corporation at the time, allegedly colluded with Pushpendra to open two fraudulent bank accounts in the name of the Municipal Corporation, Panchkula — one in May 2020 and another in June 2022. These accounts were opened by forging official seals and signatures of senior civic officials, including the then MC commissioner Sumidha Kataria (IAS), senior accounts officer Sushil Kumar, and later the deputy municipal commissioner Deepak Sura.The ACB alleged that Kaushik affixed forged official seals and falsely signed as an authorised signatory on account-opening forms and debit notes. Using fabricated RTGS/NEFT debit instructions, funds belonging to the municipal corporation were illegally transferred from these fake accounts into the personal accounts of Pushpendra.The agency further alleged that the accused prematurely liquidated fixed deposits maintained in the MC’s genuine bank accounts. The proceeds of these FDs were siphoned into the fraudulent accounts created in the name of the municipal corporation before being routed to several individuals and ultimately diverted to real estate developers.Investigators said large sums were transferred to accounts of accused Rajat Dahra, Swati Tomar and others. Thereafter, Pushpendra and Kaushik allegedly moved these funds onward to various developers.The fraud came to light when the municipal corporation sought details of its fixed deposits and account balances in July 2025 and February 2026. By then, all FDs had already been liquidated. To conceal the fraud, Kaushik allegedly instructed then relationship manager Dalip Raghav to issue false confirmations. Fake bank statements and forged FD advice slips were subsequently sent to the MC, the ACB alleged.
