The Central Bureau of Investigation has chargesheeted five Indian Administrative Service officers and 14 others over the alleged diversion of 504 crore rupees in public funds across Haryana. According to the investigative agency, funds belonging to eight state government departments and civic bodies were illicitly moved from empanelled financial institutions into designated branches of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank. The scheme relied on close collusion between state officials and private bank executives to transfer government money through a complex web of intermediary accounts before converting the sums into physical cash for personal gain.
Illegal diversion of state funds through private banks
Investigators found that the diverted state balances were routed away from authorised banking channels and redirected to third-party accounts holding no connection to official government work. The implicated entities include the Panchayat Department, the Municipal Corporations of Panchkula and Kalka, the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad, the Haryana Labour Welfare Board, the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board, and the Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited.
The supplementary chargesheet lists offences covering criminal conspiracy, bribery, cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust, destruction of evidence, and abetment. Among the 19 accused named in the final report are three officials of IDFC First Bank, one official representing AU Small Finance Bank, and nine administrative employees of the Haryana government.
Senior bureaucrats named as scope of inquiry widens
The civil servants named across the case records include Pankaj Agarwal, R K Singh, Pradeep Kumar, Vineet Garg, Saket Kumar, and Mohammad Shayin. Both Pankaj Agarwal and R K Singh were previously placed under suspension following their arrests by investigators. Pradeep Kumar was taken into custody this past June, on the exact date of his scheduled retirement from government administration.
Several senior bureaucrats named in the matter have faced significant administrative reshuffles as central agencies examined their roles. Vineet Garg, a 1991-batch IAS officer, was moved on April 8 from his post as chairman of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board to serve as Additional Chief Secretary in the Printing and Stationery Department. Saket Kumar, belonging to the 2005 batch, worked as Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister between November 28, 2024, and April 10, 2026, before being reassigned as Commissioner and Secretary in the Archives Department. Mohammad Shayin, a 2002-batch officer who earlier served as Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh, currently oversees the Housing for All Department.
- Extensive raids yield gold seizures and 26 arrests
With the latest court submission, the total tally of chargesheeted individuals in the multi-agency operation has reached 37, resulting in 26 arrests so far. Central investigators launched the formal proceedings after taking over the case directly from the Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau following a formal reference by the state administration. The central agency previously submitted two chargesheets naming 18 other entities, including corporate bodies, private intermediaries, and administrative staffers.
The agency has conducted 54 separate search operations, seizing significant documentary evidence along with physical gold valued at approximately 20 crore rupees. Investigators have widened their financial inquiry into parallel transactions involving Chandigarh Smart City Limited, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, and the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society, where related chargesheets have already been submitted. Central officers remain engaged in tracing the full financial trail to isolate additional proceeds of crime before judicial hearings commence.
