2 more govt officials held in Rs 597cr bank fraud case

Panchkula: Two more govt officials have been arrested in connection with the alleged Rs 597 crore IDFC First Bank fraud case, underlining the involvement of public servants. The latest arrests include Randhir Singh, controller, finance and accounts with the Haryana School Education Project Council, and Rajesh Sangwan, controller, Finance and Accounts with the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB). According to officials, both allegedly played a key role in the conspiracy with the main accused.The two officers were arrested on Friday and produced before a Panchkula court, which granted the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) four days of police remand. Their arrests come days after another govt official — a superintendent in the office of the director, development and panchayat — was taken into custody in the same case.According to the ACB, both newly arrested officials allegedly violated instructions issued by the Haryana finance department from time to time and conspired with other accused to siphon off govt funds. The bureau stated that they actively participated in committing the offence and accepted substantial amounts as illegal gratification. However, the ACB has not yet disclosed the amount recovered from them or the specific sums they allegedly gained.Officials said the exact modus operandi and detailed role of the two officials have not been shared yet. In its request to the court seeking remand, the ACB argued that the case involved large-scale siphoning of govt funds worth crores and that the investigation remained incomplete. It told the court that five days of police remand was essential to interrogate the accused thoroughly and uncover the full extent of the conspiracy.The ACB informed the court that sustained interrogation was necessary to piece together the complete sequence of events and understand how the conspiracy was devised and executed. It said the case related to siphoning off funds by forging instruction memos, debit notes, and valuable financial instruments, therefore, in-depth custodial interrogation was required to identify all the accused, establish their roles, and determine devices and methods used.The agency added that the accused needed to be confronted with documents seized during investigation to establish the nexus between bank officials, private individuals and public servants. They would also be questioned based on incriminating material and digital data collected. The ACB argued that custodial interrogation was crucial to trace proceeds of crime, recover forged and fabricated documents, and verify every credit and debit entry in the accounts of companies and firms through which govt funds were routed. This verification process, the bureau said, required considerable time.In related developments, another accused, Rajan Singh, was sent to four days of vigilance remand, while Ankur Sharma was remanded to judicial custody.