Chandigarh: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested two employees of the Haryana Labour Welfare Board for their alleged role in the multi-crore IDFC First Bank-AU Small Finance Bank funds diversion case, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 27.Special CBI judge Vijayant Sehgal has remanded both accounts officer Jugal Kishore and accounts clerk Amit Kumar to CBI custody till July 10. According to the CBI, Kishore was instrumental in opening savings accounts with IDFC First Bank despite being mandated to invite bids and place govt funds in fixed deposits. Instead, he allegedly opened savings accounts and linked his own mobile number to them.The agency alleged that Kumar initiated the account-opening process and, along with Jugal Kishore, operated the accounts used to divert funds.Investigators claimed that despite being informed about the termination of services of former official Abhay Kumar, Kishore remained in contact with him and facilitated the transfer of govt funds through cheques and debit notes signed by the dismissed employee. The money was allegedly routed to shell companies controlled by Abhishek Singla and others.Seeking their custodial interrogation, the CBI told the court that further questioning was necessary to unravel the conspiracy, identify other beneficiaries and recover crucial digital evidence. Defence counsel Yavneed Dhakla opposed the remand, claiming Amit Kumar had been falsely implicated. The court, however, allowed the CBI’s plea.Last week, the CBI arrested Parveen Kumar, former senior accounts officer of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), for allegedly opening and operating an unauthorised bank account at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank that was used to siphon off govt funds. He was remanded to three-day CBI custody. The agency alleged the account was opened without departmental approval, while the linked mobile number belonged to another accused to avoid detection. The HSPCB case forms part of the larger Rs 593-crore scam involving eight Haryana govt departments, where funds were allegedly diverted through forged fixed deposits and debit notes before being routed to shell companies. MSID:: 132263157 413 |
