The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Parveen Kumar, the former Senior Accounts Officer of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), on Thursday in connection with the ₹657 crore bank scam. He is the third HSPCB official to be taken into custody in a case involving the alleged misappropriation of ₹169.36 crore from the Board's account with IDFC First Bank.
Role in Opening the Account
According to the CBI, Parveen Kumar played a pivotal role in opening the HSPCB bank account that was later exploited for the fraud. The agency stated that he opened the account "in a clandestine manner, without any record or approval in the department," and that it was subsequently used to facilitate fraudulent transactions. "The funds of the Board were misappropriated using cheques/debit notes, and the debited amounts were diverted to shell entities controlled and operated by the accused," the CBI said.
Mobile Number Linked to Non-Employee
The investigating agency further alleged that although Parveen Kumar opened the account as its authorised signatory, the mobile number linked to the account belonged to another accused who was not an employee of the department. "Even though the account was opened by Parveen Kumar as signatory, the mobile number of another accused who was not working in the department was registered in the account so as to avoid detection of fraudulent transactions in the account," the CBI said.
Previous Arrests in the Case
Earlier, the CBI had arrested retired IAS officer Pardeep Kumar, the former Member Secretary of HSPCB, on June 30, the day of his retirement. The CBI has alleged that Pardeep Kumar was directly involved in the Board's investment decisions. The first arrest in the case was that of data entry operator Saurav Sharma on June 23. According to the CBI, he "facilitated and assisted" the processing of investments in favour of private banks in violation of Finance Department norms and knowingly omitted the prescribed investment ceiling, enabling deposits exceeding ₹50 crore in IDFC First Bank.
Scale of the Fraud
The CBI investigation found that between March 13, 2025, and February 13, 2026, fraudulent debit transactions amounting to ₹187.26 crore were made from the HSPCB account to various entities, including shell companies allegedly floated by the accused. After accounting for credit transactions of ₹17.90 crore, the net loss to the Board stood at ₹169.36 crore.
