Haryana IAS Officer Held In IDFC Bank Fraud Case
The Haryana government has suspended senior IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal following his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the alleged IDFC First Bank fraud case. The action comes as the probe into the multi-crore government funds misappropriation case continues to widen.
Pankaj Agarwal Suspended After CBI Arrest
Pankaj Agarwal, a 2000-batch Haryana cadre IAS officer, was suspended after he was arrested by the CBI in the alleged Rs 657 crore IDFC First Bank fraud case. He was arrested on June 22 and is currently lodged in Ambala jail.
The suspension was issued under service rules that provide for deemed suspension when an officer remains in official custody for more than 48 hours. Before his suspension, Agarwal was serving as principal secretary of the architecture department.
IDFC First Bank Fraud Probe Widens
The CBI is investigating allegations of large-scale misappropriation of Haryana government funds through accounts linked to IDFC First Bank’s Chandigarh branch. Investigators have accused Agarwal of alleged involvement in the diversion of over Rs 50 crore from the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad.
He is also accused of alleged involvement in the embezzlement of nearly Rs 10 crore from the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board during his tenure in senior administrative positions.
Haryana IAS Officers Under Investigation
Agarwal is the third IAS officer to be suspended in connection with the case. Earlier, Haryana had suspended Pardeep Kumar of the 2011 batch and Ram Kumar Singh of the 2012 batch. Singh has also been arrested by the CBI.
The case has triggered scrutiny of several Haryana cadre officers, with the investigation focusing on how government funds were allegedly diverted and whether officials failed to follow financial safeguards.
