CBI arrests former HSPCB accounts officer in IDFC First Bank fund misappropriation case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Parveen Kumar, the then Senior Accounts Officer of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), in connection with the alleged misappropriation of government funds linked to an account maintained with the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh.

According to the CBI, the investigation revealed that the bank account was allegedly opened by Parveen Kumar without obtaining the required departmental approval or maintaining any official record. The agency alleged that the account was subsequently used to facilitate fraudulent financial transactions, through which government funds belonging to the HSPCB were siphoned off using cheques and debit notes before being diverted to shell entities allegedly controlled by the accused.

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The investigating agency further claimed that although Parveen Kumar was the authorised signatory for the account, the mobile number of another accused, who was not employed with the department, had been linked to the account to allegedly avoid detection of the transactions.

The CBI said incriminating material collected during the investigation pointed to the accused’s active role in the alleged fraud, following which he was arrested on Thursday. The agency noted that two other HSPCB officials had already been arrested earlier in the case.

According to the CBI, the HSPCB case forms part of a larger investigation into the alleged diversion of nearly ₹504 crore from eight Haryana government departments through forged or non-existent fixed deposits and fraudulent debit notes routed via the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank.

The agency said it has so far filed charge sheets against 17 accused, including six officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three Haryana government officials, two companies and six private individuals. With the latest arrest, the total number of arrests in the broader case has risen to 25, the CBI added.

The investigation is continuing, and the CBI said it remains committed to tracing the entire trail of the allegedly misappropriated public funds and bringing all those found responsible before the law.