CHANDIGARH: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested suspended Haryana cadre IAS officer Ram Kumar Singh in connection with an alleged Rs 79.46 crore banking fraud linked to the Panchkula Municipal Corporation, as the accounts of the civic body were maintained at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh, officials said.
Singh, a 2012-batch IAS officer promoted from the Haryana Civil Services, is the first Haryana-cadre IAS officer to be arrested in the case. He was placed under suspension on April 9. The Central Bureau of Investigation also conducted searches at his residences in Chandigarh and Karnal and claimed to have recovered incriminating documents.
According to the agency, Rs 79.46 crore was siphoned off from the Municipal Corporation Panchkula account maintained at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh. The arrest marks a significant development in the investigation into an alleged banking fraud involving officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, who are accused of colluding with government officials to siphon funds from accounts of Haryana government departments and civic bodies through forged and non-existent fixed deposits.
The CBI alleged that the Municipal Corporation account was opened in violation of Haryana Finance Department guidelines and structured in a manner that facilitated fraudulent transactions. According to investigators, Singh, while serving as Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, handed over multiple signed cheques to bank officials through intermediaries under the pretext of creating fixed deposits.
The agency claimed that no fixed deposits were ever created and the funds were instead diverted to shell entities allegedly controlled by accused bank officials. It further alleged that the fraud was carried out with the knowledge and active participation of the then Commissioner and the corporation’s senior accountant, who has already been arrested. The Panchkula Municipal Corporation case forms part of a larger fraud centred on the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank, Chandigarh.