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New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested senior Haryana cadre 2012 Batch IAS officer Sri Ram Kumar Singh, the former Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation (MC), Panchkula, in connection with the alleged misappropriation of government funds from the civic body's bank account maintained at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh.
According to the CBI, the investigation revealed that the bank account was opened in violation of Haryana government finance department guidelines and was allegedly used to facilitate fraudulent transactions involving public funds.
The agency alleged that R.K. Singh, while serving as Municipal Commissioner, handed over multiple signed cheques to bank officials through intermediaries under the pretext of creating fixed deposits for the corporation.
However, no fixed deposits were ever created. Instead, the funds were allegedly withdrawn using the signed cheques and diverted to shell entities controlled by bank officials and other accused persons.
CBI officials said the transactions were structured in a manner designed to conceal the fraud and facilitate the siphoning of government money.
The probe has found that the alleged misappropriation was carried out with the knowledge and active participation of the then commissioner and the Senior Accountant of Municipal Corporation Panchkula.
The Senior Accountant had already been arrested earlier in the case. Based on evidence collected during the investigation, the CBI arrested R.K. Singh on Thursday.
The agency also conducted searches at his residences in Chandigarh and Karnal, recovering several documents that it described as incriminating.
The Panchkula Municipal Corporation case forms part of a much larger financial fraud involving approximately ₹504 crore belonging to eight Haryana government departments.
According to investigators, funds from these departments were allegedly siphoned off through forged or non-existent fixed deposits and debit notes before being routed to shell companies.
The specific loss to Municipal Corporation Panchkula has been pegged at around ₹79.46 crore.
The CBI has already filed chargesheets against 17 accused in the Haryana case. These include six bank officials associated with IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three Haryana government officials, two companies and six private individuals.
The agency had taken over the investigation from the Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau at the request of the state government.
The CBI is also investigating two related financial fraud cases transferred from the Chandigarh Union Territory administration. One concerns Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) and Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, while the other relates to CREST Chandigarh.
The agency has already filed chargesheets in both cases. In the CSCL case, five bankers, one CSCL official and one private individual have been chargesheeted. In the CREST case, charges have been filed against five bankers, two CREST officials, four private individuals and two companies.
A senior Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer has also been arrested in the CREST case.
The CBI said investigations are continuing and efforts are underway to trace the entire trail of misappropriated public funds and bring all those involved to justice.
