Chandigarh, June 23
A special CBI court in Panchkula has sent senior Haryana IAS officer Pankaj Aggarwal to two days of police custody after his arrest in connection with an alleged ₹60.54-crore embezzlement case involving government funds earmarked for education and agriculture. Aggarwal, who previously served as Principal Secretary in Haryana’s School Education and Agriculture departments, was produced before the court on Tuesday following his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The agency alleges that government funds were diverted through bank accounts opened in violation of official guidelines at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh during Aggarwal’s tenure. Investigators claim that large sums were transferred into these accounts beyond authorised limits, resulting in substantial losses to the state exchequer.
According to the CBI, fraudulent transactions linked to the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad (HSSPP) and the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board (HSAMB) caused losses of approximately ₹60.54 crore.
The allegations have sparked concern because the funds were intended for sectors that directly affect people’s lives, including education and agricultural development. For many taxpayers, the case raises questions about how public money meant for schools, students and farmers could allegedly be misused.
The arrest forms part of a wider CBI investigation into an alleged ₹657-crore banking fraud linked to accounts maintained with IDFC First Bank.
The CBI officials allege that eight Haryana government departments suffered losses of around ₹504 crore, while departments of the Chandigarh administration allegedly lost another ₹153 crore through similar transactions.
The CBI is continuing its investigation to trace the movement of funds, identify those involved and determine the full extent of the alleged fraud, which is emerging as one of the region’s largest public finance scandals in recent years.
