The Chandigarh District Court has framed charges against three people, including former bank manager Rajinder Singh Kalsi, in the Rs. 22 crore housing loan scam at the Punjab & Sind Bank branch in Sector 24, Chandigarh. The court has now ordered the trial to begin on December 5.
The scam came to light in 2012. At that time, irregularities were discovered during the bank’s annual inspection. Kamaljit Singh, the then senior manager of the bank, filed a police complaint alleging that Rajinder Singh Kalsi, along with Karan Thakur and Sonia Thakur, had issued 116 fraudulent housing loans totaling Rs. 22 crore.
It is alleged that they obtained loans under fake names and addresses and used forged documents. This scam resulted in a loss of crores of rupees to the bank.
ED files chargesheet after 11 years
The Sector 11 police station registered the case in 2012. Subsequently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also began an investigation. After a lengthy investigation, the ED filed a charge sheet under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in September 2023. Based on this charge sheet, the court framed charges on Tuesday.