On the day of his retirement, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested IAS officer Pardeep Kumar, the then Member Secretary of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), in connection with the Rs 657-crore Haryana bank scam.
Pardeep Kumar, who was on run for quite some time, is the third IAS officer arrested by CBI in this multi departmental banking fraud. Other two officers who have been already arrested are – Ram Kumar Singh and Pankaj Agarwal.
According to the CBI, the investigation has revealed that Kumar, who was member secretary in HSPCB, had a direct nexus with the fraud.
Funds meant for fixed deposits were sent to IDFC First Bank's Sector-32 branch in Chandigarh, far in excess of the prescribed limits, the agency said.
An account was opened at the bank in the board's name to route these funds, but no record exists of any approval for opening that account.
No fixed deposits were ever created. Instead, the agency said, the money was siphoned out through fraudulent debit transactions, leaving HSPCB with a loss of approximately Rs 169 crore.
Kumar went undeground
Once the investigation started and the sword of arrest hung over Kumar, he went underground. Through lawyers he sought anticipatory bail and shifted the blame of the then Chairman of HSPCB Vineet Garg. The CBI is investigating the role of Garg as well.
The HSPCB case is part of a much larger banking fraud unearthed at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh, where government funds amounting to roughly Rs 645 crore belonging to eight Haryana departments and two Chandigarh departments were allegedly diverted through forged or non-existent fixed deposits and fraudulent debit entries before being routed through shell companies.
So far, the agency has filed chargesheets against 17 accused in the case, including six bank officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three public servants of the Haryana government, two companies and six private individuals.
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