Kotak scam: Panchkula court orders production of Daily Diary Report entries
Pertain to police stations where key accused will be taken for probe
In the Rs 150-crore Kotak Mahindra Bank scam, the Panchkula court has ordered the production of Daily Diary Report (DDR) entries of the police stations concerned, where the Investigating Officer will take the key accused, ex-Senior Accounts Officer of Municipal Corporation (MC), Panchkula, Vikas Kaushik, for investigation.
The DDR entries have to be signed by the accused and counter signed by the SHO concerned, said Chief Judicial Magistrate Aparna Bhardwaj, in her order dated April 3.
Counsel for Kaushil, Sameer Sethi, levelled allegations of illegal arrest of Kaushik and his detention beyond 24 hours. He submitted that the investigating agency, State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB), demonstrated “a highly prejudiced and mala fide approach towards his client, evidenced by “malicious media leaks and early morning apprehensions aimed at harassing him.”
“Given this hostile environment, the applicant (Vikas Kaushik) has a grave and genuine apprehension that he may be subjected to physical or mental duress, coercion, etc. to extract involuntary or false confessions during his custodial interrogation,” he added.
The court ordered, “The accused Vikas Kaushik shall be entitled to meet his advocate(s) during investigation as per statutory provisions contained in Section 38, BNSS. The interrogation of the accused be carried out as per statutory provisions contained in BNSS, 2023.”
As per SV&ACB’s press note dated April 2, Kaushik, allegedly in collusion with deputy vice president of the bank, Pushpender Singh, fraudulently opened two accounts of the Panchkula MC and transferred the funds. Using alleged fraudulent debit notes, Kaushik and Pushpender (Kotak Mahindra Bank branch manager) would prematurely liquidate Fixed Deposits held in the genuine MC accounts, and transfer the proceeds to the fraudulent accounts.
Subsequently, funds were allegedly further transferred into the accounts of individuals, such as Rajat Dahra, Swati Tomar, and builders.
Kaushik told the court that his “current illegal detention is a direct consequence of deep-seated political rivalry”.
Meanwhile, he alleged in the court that on March 25, he was detained for prolonged questioning from 1 pm to 10.30 pm. On March 26, it was falsely spread through media leaks that he had been arrested, he stated. Thereafter, he and his family started receiving calls from relatives and friends. This led to “tension and extreme pressure on the applicant leading to him suffering palpitation, high blood pressure for treatment of which applicant had to remain admitted in General Hospital, Sector 6 Panchkula,” said Kaushik’s application against alleged illegal custody.
The court has issued a notice to SV&ACB for reply for April 8.
