The Central Bureau of Investigation has formally submitted its charge sheet in the 604 crore rupee financial embezzlement case involving government treasury deposits across Haryana and Chandigarh. Investigators have detailed a deep-rooted nexus between banking professionals and senior administrative bureaucrats who systematically diverted public revenue. A total of 17 accused persons have been named in the legal filing, including six senior Indian Administrative Service officers from the Haryana cadre. The probe outlines how state funds were misappropriated to finance private luxury, lavish hospitality, and illicit monetary transfers.
Senior Bureaucrats Named in the Legal Filing
The six senior IAS officers formally indicted in the agency charge sheet are Saket Kumar, Ram Kumar Singh, Pankaj Agarwal, Pradeep Kumar, Vineet Garg, and Mohammed Shine. The investigative findings reveal that these officers colluded with private banking executives to facilitate severe discrepancies in state treasury funds. Public accounts operated with IDFC Bank and AU Small Finance Bank were systematically manipulated, resulting in the siphoning off of more than 600 crore rupees allocated across various government departments. Following the discovery of these extensive irregularities, the concerned financial institution was forced to reimburse the entire missing sum back to the state exchequer.
Details of Hospitality and Collusion Involving Pankaj Agarwal
The charge sheet documents extensive personal benefits extended to Pankaj Agarwal, who served as the Commissioner and Secretary of the School Education Department and later held charge as the Principal Secretary of the Agriculture Department. Bank official Ribhav Rishi organized and funded luxury accommodations, private gatherings, and personal entertainment for Agarwal. Between November 2025 and January 2026, four private mujra dance parties were staged at a hotel located in Zirakpur, bordering Panchkula. The financial liabilities for the performing dance artists, premium catering, and liquor supplies were entirely settled by Ribhav Rishi.
Specific Hotel Bookings and Financial Footprints
The investigation has mapped specific dates and transactional logs detailing hospitality expenses incurred for bureaucratic favors. On 24 December 2025, a woman was invited to a private hotel near Tribune Chowk in Chandigarh, with payments processed through Abhay Kumar, an associate of Ribhav. Shortly after, on 10 January 2026, a luxury suite was reserved at a Mohali hotel where a woman was called, involving an expenditure of 75,000 rupees settled directly from Ribhav Rishi's funds. Previous engagements include an October 2025 hotel booking in New Delhi executed via Rishi's personal credit card. In that same month of October 2025, an exclusive gathering was organized for Pankaj Agarwal's wife at a Chandigarh hotel, with all associated bills paid entirely in cash by Ribhav Rishi.
Enforcement Directorate Raids on Hawala and Bullion Networks
As the financial trail of the 604 crore rupee diversion widened beyond routine banking channels, the Enforcement Directorate executed search operations on Tuesday targeting prominent bullion dealers and financial intermediaries. Raids were conducted at business and residential premises connected to Malik Jewellers, KLG Jewels, Shyam Jewellers, MB Gold Traders, Sundar Jewellers, and Gaurav Kansal. Enforcement authorities identified Gaurav Kansal as a central intermediary responsible for routing the siphoned capital across multiple bank tiers and layering the transactions to disguise the illegal origin of the public funds.
