Gurugram: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has finally taken over the case of alleged embezzlement of more than Rs 550 crore of Haryana government funds, involving forged bank transactions and private shell entities, and spanning multiple institutions, including IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank.
The case originates from an FIR filed by the Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB), Panchkula, on 23 February and a state notification last month giving consent for investigation of the FIR by the central probe agency.
A fresh FIR was registered Wednesday at CBI’s Economic Offences-III branch in New Delhi, invoking sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including sections that deal with organised financial crime, cheating, criminal conspiracy and forgery.
The 23 February FIR, seen by ThePrint, stated that certain government officials and bank employees had colluded to misappropriate state funds kept in fixed deposits under MMGAY 2.0 (Mukhya Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana) scheme.
After initial investigation by the SV&ACB, the Haryana government through a communication requested the Centre to allow the CBI to take over the investigation, citing the “magnitude, complexity, and interstate ramifications” of the alleged fraud.
The Centre formally extended the CBI’s jurisdiction to Haryana Wednesday, when the CBI registered the fresh FIR.
Haryana government had handed the case first to the SV&ACB after a departmental committee found irregularities in two scheme accounts opened in September 2025, one each in IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, for government funds amounting to Rs 75 crore.
The money was kept in fixed deposits and was supposed to be kept in the accounts until further instructions. But by January 2026, most of the Rs 50 crore deposited in IDFC First Bank was missing.
The departmental committee found that IDFC First Bank had used multiple cheques and debit notes to move the funds. These bore forged signatures of then Director General of Panchayats, Dusmanta Kumar Behera, who had already relinquished charge from the Development & Panchayats Department in October 2025.
Some of the cheques reflected mismatched entries—one cited an amount “Rs 2.5 crore” in figures but “Rupees Twenty-Five Crore” in words, which the bank inexplicably honoured.
Another key finding pointed to forged debit notes without memo or dispatch numbers, and subsequent fund transfers to accounts linked to entities such as ‘Swastik Desh Project’, ‘SRR Planning Gurus Pvt Ltd’, ‘Cap Co Fintech Services’, and ‘R.S. Traders’—all now under CBI scrutiny as possible shell companies.
AU Small Finance Bank, meanwhile, reportedly transferred Rs 25.45 crore correctly to Axis Bank but withheld documents critical to the probe. The vigilance report described the bank’s stance as “non-cooperative”.
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How matter escalated to CBI
Inspector Amit Kumar of the SV&ACB, who filed the initial FIR, cited evidence of criminal conspiracy, forgery, and massive institutional failure in reporting and securing government funds.
The Haryana government, via its March notification, acknowledged that the case involved “multi-layered, organised fraud” with potential cross-border financial trails—grounds on which it sought the CBI’s intervention.
The Centre’s Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) echoed that assessment. Its Wednesday notification under Sections 5 and 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, officially transferred the case to the CBI, empowering the agency to investigate across Haryana.
CBI Additional Superintendent of Police Puspal Paul has been designated as the investigating officer. The case falls under the supervision of CBI Superintendent of Police Navin Kumar Soni.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)