New Delhi, June 23: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal on Monday. This arrest is linked to the misuse of government funds from accounts associated with the Haryana School Education Project Council (HSSPP) and the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) at the IDFC First Bank branch in Chandigarh’s Sector 32. Agarwal is set to be presented in court today, Tuesday.
The CBI took over the case at the request of the Haryana government. Investigations revealed that these accounts were opened in violation of the current regulations set by the Haryana government’s finance department. Subsequently, funds exceeding the prescribed limits were transferred into these accounts. These accounts were established during Pankaj Agarwal’s tenure as Principal Secretary. The investigation uncovered fraudulent transactions that led to a loss of ₹60.54 crores to the government. Solid evidence has been gathered against Agarwal during the investigation.
Notably, the CBI took over the investigation from the Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau at the request of the state government. The fraud case involves a total embezzlement of approximately ₹60.54 crores, part of a larger scam at the IDFC First Bank branch in Sector 32, where ₹504 crores from eight departments of the Haryana government were misappropriated and transferred to shell companies. So far, the CBI has filed charges against 17 accused in this Haryana case, including six bank officials from IDFC First Bank/AU Small Finance Bank, three government employees from Haryana, two companies, and six private individuals.
In a related case of fund misuse in the Panchkula Municipal Corporation, senior IAS officer RK Singh has been sent to judicial custody after his police remand ended.
The CBI has also taken over two additional cases from the Union Territory of Chandigarh. One case is linked to Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL)/Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, while the other involves CREST Chandigarh. The CBI has filed one charge sheet in each of these cases. In the CSCL case, charges have been filed against five bankers, one officer, and one private individual. In the CREST case, charges have been filed against five bankers, two officers, four private individuals, and two companies. Additionally, one senior officer has already been arrested.
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