IAS officer arrested on retirement day

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested senior IAS officer Pardeep Kumar on Tuesday, the day he retired, for allegedly misappropriating about Rs 169 crore from the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) funds.

Kumar, a 2011-batch IAS officer from the Haryana cadre who was promoted from the Haryana Civil Services, served as Member Secretary of the HSPCB from August 31, 2022, to December 10, 2025. He was later appointed Director of the Haryana Transport Department and suspended in April 2026, along with another IAS officer, on allegations of a scam.

According to the CBI, Kumar personally managed investment work at the HSPCB. He allegedly approved the transfer of board funds to IDFC First Bank’s Sector-32 branch in Chandigarh, claiming it was for fixed deposits, but did so without proper approvals and beyond the set limits. The agency said an account was opened in the HSPCB’s name without the required authorisations or records.

No fixed deposits were made. Instead, fraudulent debit transactions occurred, resulting in a loss of about Rs 169 crore for the HSPCB. This is described as the largest departmental loss in the case. The funds had a “direct nexus with the fraud” and were transferred as part of an alleged conspiracy involving the accused bank officer. This case is part of a larger alleged banking fraud involving nearly Rs 504 crore, though some reports say the amount could be as high as Rs 657 crore, from eight Haryana Government departments. Investigators say public funds were diverted using fake or non-existent fixed deposits, unauthorised transactions, and shell companies.

The CBI took over the investigation from the Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau at the state Government’s request.

Kumar reportedly avoided investigators for several days, keeping his phone off and his location unknown. A CBI team visited his home earlier but did not find him there. He had applied for anticipatory bail at the Special CBI Court in Panchkula, with a hearing set for July 2.

The CBI eventually found him and arrested him on June 30, his last day at work.

Kumar is the third IAS officer to be arrested in this case. Earlier, Ram Kumar Singh was arrested in connection with funds from the Municipal Corporation, Panchkula, and Pankaj Aggarwal was arrested for links to funds from the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad and the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board.

So far, the CBI has filed charge sheets against 17 people, including six officials from IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three Haryana Government employees, two companies, and six private individuals. The agency said related investigations are ongoing in Chandigarh, involving Chandigarh Smart City Limited and other groups. The CBI also reported that a senior IFoS officer has been arrested in one of the Chandigarh-related cases.

The CBI said the investigation is ongoing to track the full trail of the stolen funds, identify everyone involved, and recover the money. Kumar was arrested under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. More proceedings, including remand, are expected soon. The case highlights major problems in how Government funds were managed in private banks and the suspected collusion between some officials and bank staff.