The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has detained Pankaj Aggarwal, a senior IAS officer, for his involvement in the suspected misuse of government funds from accounts held by the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP) and the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh. Aggarwal, who previously held positions in the School Education and Agriculture Departments, was apprehended on June 22 and is set to appear in court on Tuesday.
The CBI took over the investigation after a referral from the Haryana government, citing irregularities in the opening of accounts for HSSPP and HSAMB that breached state Finance Department guidelines. During Aggarwal’s tenure as Principal Secretary, funds exceeding prescribed limits were transferred to these accounts, leading to fraudulent transactions and an alleged misappropriation of around Rs 60.54 crore from the state treasury. The CBI has collected evidence incriminating the senior bureaucrat during its inquiry.
This case is part of a larger banking fraud scheme involving the IDFC First Bank’s Sector 32 branch, where approximately Rs 504 crore from eight Haryana government departments was purportedly diverted through shell entities. The CBI, at the state government’s request, took over the investigation from the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Haryana, and has already charged 17 individuals in connection with the case, including bank officials, government personnel, companies, and private individuals.
In a related development, another senior IAS officer, R.K. Singh, arrested for alleged fund misappropriation linked to the Municipal Corporation of Panchkula, has been remanded to judicial custody after his police remand concluded. The CBI has also assumed control of two separate cases from the Chandigarh Union Territory, one involving the Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) and the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, and the other associated with the Centre for Research and Industrial Staff Performance (CREST). Chargesheets have been filed by the CBI in both cases, with seven accused in the CSCL matter and 13 accused in the CREST case, including bankers, government officials, private individuals, and companies. An Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer has already been arrested in connection with the CREST case.
