The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) on Wednesday took Kotak Mahindra Bank deputy vice-president Pushpinder Singh into custody after he surrendered in connection with a Rs 150 crore scam.Singh served as branch manager of Kotak Mahindra Bank in Sector 11, Panchkula, from where funds belonging to the Municipal Corporation (MC), Panchkula, were allegedly siphoned off.Sources said Singh surrendered before the SV&ACB and was taken into custody for questioning. He is the sixth accused linked to the case.According to the FIR, the MC had 16 fixed deposits (FDs) worth Rs 145.03 crore, with a maturity value of Rs 158.02 crore, in the Sector 11 branch. Of these, 11 FDs worth Rs 59.58 crore matured on February 16. When the MC approached the bank, officials provided statements that neither matched each other nor the MC’s records, particularly regarding the FDs.Role of Pushpinder SinghAs per submissions made by the SV&ACB before the court, former Senior Accounts Officer of MC Panchkula, Vikas Kaushik, allegedly, in collusion with Pushpinder Singh, fraudulently opened two bank accounts in the name of the civic body and diverted funds.While posted as Section Officer at MC Panchkula, Kaushik, along with Pushpinder Singh—then deputy vice-president at Kotak Mahindra Bank—allegedly opened a fraudulent account (No. 2015073031) in May 2020 in the name of the Municipal Corporation Panchkula.On the account opening form, Kaushik allegedly affixed the official seals of the MC Commissioner and the Senior Accounts Officer. He and Singh also allegedly forged the signatures of the then MC Commissioner, IAS Sumedha Kataria, and then Senior Accounts Officer, Sushil Kumar.In June 2022, the two allegedly opened another fraudulent account (No. 2046279112) in the name of MC Panchkula at the same bank.For this account, Kaushik allegedly signed as Senior Accounts Officer and affixed a forged seal of the Deputy Municipal Commissioner (DMC). Over this seal, he and Singh allegedly forged the signature of the then DMC, Deepak Sura.The probe further revealed that Kaushik allegedly fabricated fraudulent debit notes (RTGS/NEFT), signing as one of the authorised signatories while forging the second signature.Using these debit notes, Pushpinder Singh allegedly transferred MC funds from the fraudulent accounts to his personal bank accounts.“Through these fraudulent debit notes, accused Vikas Kaushik and Pushpinder Singh would prematurely liquidate FDs held in the genuine accounts of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation. By forging signatures, they transferred the proceeds into fraudulent accounts opened in the name of the MC—2015073031 and 2046279112,” the SV&ACB told the court.Funds from these accounts were then allegedly routed to individuals, including Rajat Dahra and Swati Tomar, among others.“Finally, Pushpinder Singh and Vikas Kaushik transferred the funds onward to various builders,” the agency added.