Another arrest made in Rs 590-crore govt funds diversion probe

Panchkula: The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Saturday arrested another accused, Manish Jindal, in the ongoing probe into the alleged Rs 590 crore Haryana govt funds siphoning case. Jindal, who worked for certain officers of Haryana administration and was said to be close to an IAS officer, was taken into custody during investigation into the financial diversion.Investigators are currently examining bank account details of several govt officers. The ACB said interrogation of the accused, analysis of seized documents and digital data suggested that Jindal, a resident of Sector 117, Mohali, acted as a middleman in the fund diversion racket.
In the remand papers, the ACB stated that Jindal played a "significant and active role" in hatching a conspiracy with the co-accused to divert govt money to private firms for wrongful gain. He allegedly benefited substantially through cash and valuables worth crores. The bureau said he not only helped plan the conspiracy but also actively executed it. Digital data, especially call detail record (CDR) analysis, corroborated his involvement, officials claimed. Witness statements and scrutiny of his bank records also revealed several unexplained transactions.Jindal's arrest came following interrogation of Naresh Kumar Bhuwani, 52, a superintendent in the office of the director, Development and Panchayat Department, Haryana, who was arrested earlier. Bhuwani's questioning revealed Jindal's role, prompting the ACB to act.On Sunday, Manish Jindal was produced before chief judicial magistrate Aparna Bhardwaj, who granted the ACB five days' police remand. The bureau had sought a 10-day remand, stating it needed time to uncover the complete modus operandi, identify all beneficiaries, and verify the roles played by public servants, bank officials, private individuals and others linked to the diversion of funds. The ACB also said it needed to recover documents related to movable and immovable property allegedly purchased by Jindal using proceeds of crime.Meanwhile, the ACB recently arrested four more individuals— Rishab Rishi, Abhay Kumar, Swati Singla and Abhishek Singla — on Feb 24. They are currently under seven days' police remand. Preliminary analysis of statements revealed that money was allegedly siphoned off from the govt accounts of HSSPP, HPCB, HPGCL, DPMMG, and the municipal corporation, Panchkula. It was then further diverted from the account of Swastik Desh Project to entities including Sawan Jewellers, accused Ribhav Rishi, certain other jewellers, Divya Arora (wife of Ribhav Rishi), accused Abhishek Singla, accused Swati Singla, some govt accounts and other private individuals.MSID:: 128917098 413 |