Chandigarh MC scam: Rs 116 crore FDR scandal unfolds, officials under fire
The police have begun preparing lists of officials from Chandigarh Smart City Limited and MC, who were posted when the suspected transactions were made.
The Chandigarh Police have launched a probe into an alleged scam of over Rs 116 crore that surfaced in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC). The role of several officers working in Chandigarh Smart City Limited, Municipal Corporation, and IDFC First Bank are under scrutiny.
An internal inquiry conducted by the MC has revealed large-scale fudging, mismatch and discrepancies in the records submitted to the MC related to the Rs 116 crore deposited in IDFC First Bank Limited.
Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Police have started investigating the case after registering an FIR in the alleged scam.
The police have begun preparing lists of officials from Chandigarh Smart City Limited and MC, who were posted when the suspected transactions were made.
MC officials have not ruled out their involvement in the case.
The police have sought information from the bank regarding the further transaction of the amount. They suspect that the amount was transferred to multiple accounts by the accused.
The FIR against an MC employee and bank officer was registered based on a complaint by the account officer of MC, who reported suspected financial transactions and mismanagement in various bank accounts of Chandigarh Smart City Limited and Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh in the IDFC First Bank branch in Sector 32, Chandigarh
Following a similar scam came in Haryana in IDFC First Bank, MCC officials approached IDFC First Bank, Sector 32, Chandigarh, requesting encashment of FDRs worth over Rs 116 crore, which were prepared when Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) was closed in March 2025. The assets, records, and financial matters were transferred to Municipal Corporation Chandigarh.
CSCL had maintained multiple bank accounts in IDFC First Bank for operational transactions. The inquiry revealed that the bank informed the civic body last month that the FDRs were not appearing in the IDFC Bank system and were stated to be fake.
These FDRs were reportedly issued by Rishab Rishi, the then Bank Manager, IDFC First Bank, Sector 32, Chandigarh, during March/April 2025.
The internal inquiry also revealed that Anubhav Mishra, an accountant working on an outsource basis, was custodian of FDRs.
Surprisingly, no one in the accounts department was aware that the FDRs were fake for over a year.
The inquiry found that bank account statements provided during the handing over and taking over of charges in March/April 2025 by Smart City officials were completely mismatched with the original bank account statement obtained from IDFC Bank on February 24, 2026. Many credit and debit entries appear suspicious and seem fake in the statement provided by the bank.
The FDs amounting to Rs 116.84 crores, as active assets in the handed-over records, do not exist in the bank statement obtained from IDFC Bank.
Amit Kumar, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, said that an internal inquiry is underway. Once the report is received, the MC will prepare standard operating procedures (SOPs) to handle transactions with banks. SOPs will be followed by all departments dealing with bank transactions. He also claimed that the MC has received the entire amount from the bank with interest.
