IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal, a 2000-batch officer of the Haryana cadre, faces imminent suspension following his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on June 22 in connection with a Rs 657 crore bank scam. A Panchkula court on Tuesday sent him to two days' CBI custody. Under Section 3(2) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, an officer detained in official custody for more than 48 hours is deemed suspended by the concerned government.
Agarwal's Fall from Grace
Once considered close to the Haryana government, Agarwal has recently fallen out of favor with both the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government and the opposition Congress. He faced allegations of favoring BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal during his tenure as Returning Officer (RO) for the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections by rejecting Congress votes. Despite an FIR registered against him by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) on February 23 in the bank scam, Agarwal received a plum posting on March 19 as Principal Secretary, Irrigation and Water Resources; Adviser, Haryana Saraswati Heritage Board; and Principal Secretary, Mines and Geology Department.
Details of the Rs 657 Crore Bank Scam
According to investigators, officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank allegedly colluded with Haryana government officials and IAS officers to siphon off funds from eight Haryana government departments and two Chandigarh Administration departments. Agarwal is accused of facilitating the diversion of over Rs 50 crore from the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP) during his tenure as Principal Secretary, School Education. He is also alleged to have been involved in embezzling around Rs 10 crore from the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board while serving as Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.
CBI Investigation and Posting Changes
The CBI took over the investigation on April 8. On the same day, Agarwal and other accused IAS officers were stripped of key assignments and posted as Principal Secretary, Architecture Department, a position he continues to hold. Agarwal began his career in 2001 as an Assistant Commissioner at the Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA), Gurugram, and held several key positions in power, irrigation, food and civil supplies, personnel, labour, and transport departments.
Controversy Over Rajya Sabha Election Role
Following the Rajya Sabha election, where Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh eventually won, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) submitted a memorandum to Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh on March 19 seeking action against Agarwal. The memorandum alleged that the Returning Officer acted with "notorious shrewdness and arbitrariness" and "deliberately and illegally" rejected Congress MLAs' votes while accepting invalid votes for BJP and Independent candidates. On May 20, Congress chief whip BB Batra questioned why Agarwal was appointed Returning Officer despite being under investigation in the scam. "He was compromised as Returning Officer. He was under pressure and did not conduct the elections fairly," Batra alleged. Batra also criticized the Saini government for failing to initiate departmental proceedings against the officers named in the scam, asking why only two IAS officers had been suspended and why Pankaj Agarwal had not been suspended.
Political Reactions
Following Agarwal's arrest, Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda drew parallels with the 2024 Chandigarh mayoral election controversy involving returning officer Anil Masih. In a post on X on Tuesday, Hooda said, "The arrest has exposed the BJP's corrupt face. During the Rajya Sabha elections, this officer made a concerted effort to ensure the victory of a BJP-backed candidate. The incident brought back memories of the brazen theft of councillors' votes by returning officer Anil Masih during the Chandigarh mayoral election. The BJP government exploited this corrupt officer to serve its political interests by using the threat of action against him as leverage."
