New Delhi, June 23: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested senior IAS officer Pankaj Aggarwal in connection with the alleged embezzlement of Rs 60.54 crore from the accounts of the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad (HSSPP) and the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board (HSAMB) maintained with IDFC First Bank.
According to the CBI, Aggarwal, who served as the Principal Secretary of the School Education and Agriculture Departments, was arrested on Monday after investigators found that bank accounts were opened at IDFC First Bank’s Chandigarh Sector 32 branch in violation of government guidelines. Funds were allegedly transferred into these accounts beyond the permitted limits and later siphoned off through fraudulent transactions.
The agency said the fraud caused a direct loss of Rs 60.54 crore to the Haryana government and forms part of a much larger Rs 657 crore scam involving funds belonging to the Haryana government and the Chandigarh administration.
The investigation has revealed that around Rs 504 crore was siphoned from eight Haryana government departments, while Rs 153 crore was allegedly diverted from Chandigarh government accounts through shell entities.
So far, the CBI has filed chargesheets against 17 accused, including bank officials, government employees, private individuals and companies. Aggarwal is scheduled to be produced before a special CBI court.
The agency is also investigating two related cases involving Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL), the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, and CREST Chandigarh, where several officials, bankers and private persons have already been chargesheeted or arrested.
