By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Pardeep Kumar, IAS, the then Member Secretary, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), for his alleged involvement in the Rs 504 crore fraud case, an official statement said.
The CBI has accused Kumar of misappropriating government funds from the account of HSPCB maintained with the Sector-32, Chandigarh Branch of IDFC First Bank.
Investigation has revealed that Kumar, as Member Secretary, had a direct in the fraud case as he himself handled the entire investment related work at his level.
Funds for fixed deposits were sent to IDFC First bank far in excess of the prescribed limits. For creating the fixed deposits, the funds of HSPCB were first transferred into an account opened at IDFC First Bank, Sector – 32 Branch, Chandigarh. Surprisingly there is no record which the department could produce with regard to opening of this account. The conspiracy was so deep that the account got opened without any approvals and funds transferred into the account in the name of creating fixed deposits. Investigation conducted so far revealed that no fixed deposits were created in this bank. Instead, fraudulent debit transactions were carried out from this account, resulting in the misappropriation of government funds and causing a net loss of approximately ₹169 crore to the Government of Haryana. This represents the single largest financial loss suffered by any of the affected government departments of Haryana in the overall scam.
Kumar had been evading investigation for some time and was not joining the investigation despite repeated efforts. He was arrested after CBI traced his whereabouts.
Kumar’s arrest came after the CBI took over the investigation from the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Haryana, at the request of the State Government. The fraud relating to HSPCB forms part of a larger banking fraud at the Sector-32 Branch of IDFC First Bank, Chandigarh, wherein government funds amounting to approximately ₹504 crore belonging to eight departments of the Government of Haryana were allegedly siphoned off through forged/non-existent Fixed Deposits and fraudulent debit transactions, and subsequently routed through shell entities.
So far, the CBI has filed chargesheets against 17 accused in the Haryana case, including six bank officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three public servants of the Government of Haryana, two companies and six private individuals. Prior to the present arrest, the CBI had already arrested two senior officers in connection with the case.
The CBI has also taken over two related cases from the Union Territory of Chandigarh—one pertaining to Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL)/Municipal Corporation Chandigarh and another relating to Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST). Chargesheets have already been filed in both cases. In the CSCL case, the CBI has chargesheeted five bankers, one CSCL official and one private individual. In the CREST case, chargesheets have been filed against five bankers, two CREST officials, four private individuals and two companies.