New Delhi [India], June 23 (HBTV): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested senior IAS officer Pankaj Aggarwal, who served as Principal Secretary in the Departments of School Education and Agriculture, in connection with the alleged misappropriation of government funds from accounts maintained by the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP) and the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board (HSAMB) at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh.
Aggarwal is scheduled to be produced before a court later today. The CBI took over the investigation at the request of the Haryana Government.
According to the agency, the investigation revealed that accounts belonging to the two departments were opened in violation of existing guidelines issued by the Haryana Finance Department. Funds were subsequently transferred to these accounts beyond the prescribed limits.
The accounts were opened during Aggarwal's tenure as Principal Secretary, the CBI said.
Investigators alleged that fraudulent transactions carried out through these accounts resulted in the misappropriation of government funds, causing a net loss of INR 60.54 crore to the state exchequer. The agency stated that it has collected incriminating evidence against Aggarwal during the course of the investigation.
The CBI had earlier taken over the case from the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Haryana, following a request from the state government. The alleged fraud involving the two departments forms part of a larger scam at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank, where funds amounting to approximately INR 504 crore from eight Haryana Government departments were allegedly siphoned off and routed through shell entities.
So far, the CBI has filed chargesheets against 17 accused in the Haryana case, including six officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three Haryana Government officials, two companies, and six private individuals.
Senior IAS officer R.K. Singh, who was arrested in connection with the alleged misappropriation of funds in the Municipal Corporation Panchkula case, has been remanded to judicial custody following the completion of his police remand.
The agency has also taken over two additional cases from the Chandigarh Union Territory involving Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) and the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, as well as the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CREST). One chargesheet has been filed in each of these cases.
In the CSCL case, the CBI has chargesheeted five bankers, one CSCL official, and one private individual. In the CREST case, charges have been filed against five bankers, two CREST officials, four private individuals, and two companies.
The agency further stated that a senior Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer has already been arrested in connection with the CREST case.
The CBI said it remains committed to bringing all those responsible to justice and ensuring that the trail of misappropriated public funds is fully traced.
(ANI)