Last Updated on June 23, 2026 10:17 pm by BIZNAMA NEWS
By Inder Vashisht
A Panchkula court has remanded former Haryana Principal Secretary and IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal to two days of CBI custody in connection with the alleged embezzlement of ₹60.54 crore from the state’s School Education and Agriculture departments. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Agarwal on Monday.
According to the CBI, the investigation revealed that during Agarwal’s tenure as Principal Secretary, bank accounts of the Haryana School Education Project Council and the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board were opened at the Sector-32 branch of IDFC First Bank in violation of Finance Department guidelines.
Investigators alleged that funds exceeding the prescribed limits were transferred into these accounts and fraudulent transactions were carried out through them, leading to the misappropriation of ₹60.54 crore.
The agency said the case forms part of a much larger financial scam linked to the Sector-32 branch of IDFC First Bank. In the broader alleged fraud, nearly ₹504 crore belonging to eight Haryana government departments was reportedly siphoned off through fake or non-existent fixed deposits, fabricated debit notes and fictitious entities before being routed to shell companies.
In a related development, former Municipal Commissioner of Panchkula and IAS officer Ram Kumar Singh had earlier been arrested over allegations of embezzling ₹79.46 crore.
So far, chargesheets have been filed against 17 accused in the case. Those named include six bank officials from IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three Haryana government officers, two companies and six private individuals.
The CBI is also investigating two other Chandigarh-linked cases involving Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL)/Municipal Corporation Chandigarh and CREST Chandigarh. Chargesheets have already been filed in both matters.
In the CSCL case, charges have been framed against five bank officials, one CSCL official and one private individual. In the CREST case, five bank officials, two CREST officials, four private individuals and two companies have been named as accused. Indian Forest Service officer Navneet Srivastava had earlier been arrested in connection with the CREST investigation.