Senior IAS Officer Arrested by CBI in Haryana Government Fund Embezzlement Case Involving Rs 60.54 Crore

According to officials, Aggarwal, who served as Principal Secretary of the School Education Department and the Agriculture Department in the Haryana government, was arrested on Monday after investigators found that bank accounts had been opened at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh in violation of state government guidelines. Funds were subsequently transferred to these accounts beyond permissible limits.

In an official statement, the CBI spokesperson said that the accounts were opened during Aggarwal's tenure as Principal Secretary. The investigation revealed that fraudulent transactions carried out through these departmental accounts resulted in the misappropriation of government funds, causing a net loss of Rs 60.54 crore.

The case forms part of the CBI's wider investigation into an alleged Rs 657 crore embezzlement involving accounts of the Haryana government and the Chandigarh administration maintained at IDFC First Bank. Of the total amount, illegal transactions allegedly caused losses of Rs 504 crore to the Haryana government and Rs 153 crore to the Chandigarh administration.

Aggarwal is scheduled to be produced before a special court on Tuesday. The CBI had assumed control of the investigation following a reference made by the Haryana government.

The investigating agency stated that substantial incriminating evidence against Aggarwal had been collected during the course of the probe.

According to the CBI, the fraud involving the two departments and the alleged misappropriation of approximately Rs 60.54 crore forms part of a much larger scandal linked to the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank. In this case, funds amounting to Rs 504 crore belonging to eight Haryana government departments were allegedly siphoned off and routed through shell entities.

The CBI has already filed a charge sheet against 17 accused in the Haryana case. Those named include six officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three public servants from the Haryana government, two companies and six private individuals.

The agency further stated that senior IAS officer R. K. Singh, who had earlier been arrested in connection with the alleged misappropriation of funds related to the Municipal Corporation of Panchkula, has been sent to judicial custody after the completion of his police remand.

Apart from the Haryana case, the CBI is also investigating two separate cases linked to the IDFC banking scandal in Chandigarh. One case pertains to Chandigarh Smart City Limited and the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, while the other concerns the Centre for Research and Environmental Sustainability and Technology.

In the Chandigarh Smart City Limited case, the CBI has filed a charge sheet against five bankers, one official of Chandigarh Smart City Limited and one private individual. In the Centre for Research and Environmental Sustainability and Technology case, the agency has charge-sheeted five bankers, two officials, four private individuals and two companies. The CBI also confirmed that a senior Indian Forest Service officer has already been arrested in connection with the latter case.

The arrest of a senior IAS officer in the expanding banking and government fund embezzlement investigation marks a significant development in one of the largest alleged financial scandals involving Haryana government departments and the Chandigarh administration, with investigators continuing to uncover the network behind the diversion of public money.