Gurugram: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested IAS officer Pardeep Kumar, former member secretary of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), for his alleged role in the IDFC First Bank fraud case. The arrest comes after the officer allegedly evaded joining the investigation, while his board ended up being hit hardest by the scam.
A CBI spokesperson confirmed the arrest Tuesday evening.
The CBI said Kumar handled the entire investment-related work of HSPCB at his level and that his actions 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—the worst hit among the eight government departments who bore losses.
Kumar had gone underground soon after the scam came to light and had been avoiding the investigation despite repeated attempts by the CBI to question him, officers said. He was traced and arrested after the agency stepped up efforts to locate him.
Tuesday was Kumar’s last day as an officer since he was to retire on superannuation on 30 June 2026.
While he was still avoiding arrest, his counsel had moved an anticipatory bail application before the Special CBI Court in Panchkula, arguing that Kumar was being unfairly targeted for decisions that were not his alone to take. In that plea, Kumar’s lawyers had sought to shift the blame onto the then chairman of HSPCB, contending that as member secretary, Kumar functioned under the chairman’s overall supervision and that he acted on the verbal orders of the chairman.
His plea for anticipatory bail, which will now become infructuous, is to come up for hearing on 2 July.
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.
The CBI took over the probe from the Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau at the request of the state government after the scale of the fraud became evident.
Kumar is the third IAS officer to be arrested in the case after Ram Kumar Singh and Pankaj Aggarwal, both of whom were taken into custody earlier this year in connection with their alleged role in the fraud in departments they headed.
So far, the CBI has filed charge sheets against 17 people in the Haryana case alone, including six officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three Haryana government servants, two companies and six private individuals.
The agency has also taken over two related cases from the Union Territory of Chandigarh—one involving Chandigarh Smart City Limited and the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh, and the other concerning the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST).
The CBI spokesperson said the investigation is still working to establish the complete trail of the misappropriated funds and trace the proceeds of crime, and more arrests are not ruled out as the probe widens across departments and bank branches involved.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)