IAS officer arrested on retirement day in Haryana's Rs 169-crore banking fraud case
The CBI has arrested IAS officer Pardeep Kumar, the then Member Secretary of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), for allegedly misappropriating Rs 169
The CBI has arrested IAS officer Pardeep Kumar, the then Member Secretary of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), for allegedly misappropriating Rs 169 crore in government funds by authorising their transfer to an IDFC First Bank branch in Chandigarh under the pretext of creating fixed deposits. The central probe agency said the alleged fraud resulted in the biggest financial loss suffered by a Haryana government department in a banking fraud. According to the agency, Kumar personally handled investment-related work and authorised fund transfers far beyond the prescribed limits to IDFC First Bank's Sector-32 branch in Chandigarh. Read Full Story The arrest was made on his last working day before retirement.
Pardeep Kumar, originally a 2011-batch Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officer who was later to the IAS, played a direct role in the fraudulent handling of HSPCB funds during his tenure as Member Secretary. However, the CBI found that the funds were first transferred into a bank account allegedly opened in the name of HSPCB without any departmental approval or official records. No fixed deposits were ever created. Instead, fraudulent debit transactions were carried out from the account, resulting in the alleged siphoning of Rs 169 crore. The agency said Kumar had been evading investigation despite repeated notices and had also moved an anticipatory bail application before a Panchkula court, which was scheduled to be heard on July 2.
He was arrested after the CBI traced his whereabouts. The HSPCB case is part of a larger Rs 504-crore banking fraud involving eight Haryana government departments, where public funds were allegedly siphoned off through forged or non-existent fixed deposits and fraudulent debit transactions before being routed through shell entities. The CBI had taken over the probe from the Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau at the request of the state government. So far, the agency has filed charge sheets 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. Before Kumar’s arrest, two senior government officers had already been taken into custody in connection with the case.
The CBI has also taken over investigations into two related cases from Chandigarh involving Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) and the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST). Charge sheets have already been filed in both matters, and a senior Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer has also been arrested in the CREST case. The CBI said it remains committed to identifying the complete trail of misappropriated public funds, tracing the proceeds of crime, and bringing all those responsible to justice. Ends
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