The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has detained Pankaj Aggarwal, a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, for his alleged involvement in the misappropriation of government funds held at the Chandigarh branch of IDFC First Bank. This arrest marks the second instance of an IAS officer being apprehended in this case.
Aggarwal is accused of embezzling funds from the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad and the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board. He is scheduled to appear before the court on Tuesday for further proceedings. Previously, another IAS officer, R.K. Singh, was arrested for similar financial misconduct related to the Municipal Corporation in Panchkula and is currently in judicial custody.
The CBI took over the investigation into the IDFC First Bank case based on a referral from the state government. It was discovered that accounts for the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad and the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board were opened against Finance Department guidelines during Aggarwal’s tenure as the Principal Secretary. Fraudulent transactions were conducted through these accounts, resulting in a government loss of Rs 60.54 crore.
The CBI has gathered incriminating evidence against Aggarwal during the investigation. The agency has charge-sheeted a total of 17 individuals, including officials from IDFC First Bank/AU Small Finance Bank, public servants from the Haryana government, companies, and private individuals, in connection with the misappropriation of funds amounting to Rs 60.54 crore. Additionally, the CBI has assumed control of two other cases from Chandigarh, involving the Chandigarh Smart City project and CREST Chandigarh.
