The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has disclosed that SMS alerts for 47 fraudulent debit transactions totaling Rs 187.26 crore from Haryana government accounts were delivered to the mobile phone of co-accused Abhishek Singla. This revelation came during the arrest of Shamim Dar, former Area Head of the Government Banking Group at IDFC First Bank, and Charanjeet Singh Randhawa, ex-branch manager of AU Small Finance Bank, for their alleged roles in facilitating the scam.
Court Remands Accused to CBI Custody
On Tuesday, a Panchkula court sent both Dar and Randhawa to three-day CBI custody. The CBI investigation established that the opening of government accounts at IDFC First Bank's Sector 32, Chandigarh branch was a sourcing-and-conversion exercise driven by the Government Banking Group team, of which Dar was a member. Dar served as the account-opening approver for multiple Haryana government accounts, including those of Municipal Council Kalka, Municipal Corporation Panchkula, Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB), Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), HPGCL Employees’ Pension Fund Trust, and State Project Director, Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP).
False Certifications on Account Opening Forms
The CBI informed the court that in the banker's certification column of Account Opening Forms (AOFs) for these government accounts, Dar personally affixed certifications stating he had 'met the customer at his communication address,' 'seen the original KYC documents,' and that 'the customer has signed in my presence (CSIMP).' These certifications lent legitimacy to accounts that were subsequently operated through forged instruments. The CBI noted that in several AOFs approved by Dar, the recorded mobile number did not belong to any government officer but to individuals under the control of the accused persons.
In the case of HSPCB, the recorded mobile number belonged to Abhishek Singla, a co-accused and brother-in-law of Abhay Kumar, the then relationship manager of IDFC First Bank. All SMS alerts for the 47 fraudulent debits aggregating Rs 187.26 crore were delivered to Singla's phone. The CBI stated, 'The fraudulent contact mobile numbers are present on the same instruments that Shamim Dar certified as genuine. His certification—that he had met the customer, seen the originals and witnessed the signing—is, on its own terms, an attestation as to the correctness of the customer particulars on the AOF, the contact mobile number among them.'
Role in Specific Fraudulent Transactions
In the second account of HSPCB, Singla's mobile number was again mentioned. For HSSPP, Dar recommended a forged debit of Rs 2.49 crore for approval, describing it as a 'vendor payment' to obtain higher-level approval for a fraudulent transaction. He also carried out a telephonic approval role in the Rs 10 crore cancelled-cheque debit from the HSAMB account, communicating with an authorised signatory and furnishing material that enabled a backdated change of authorised signatory in a key account.
There were 14 fraudulent transactions from the account of the Director, Panchayat, MMGAY 2.0, to M/s Swastik Desh Projects, a shell entity floated by the accused, at AU Small Finance Bank. Each transaction was effected on forged debit notes or cheques bearing the forged signature of DK Behera, Director General, Panchayat.
AU Small Finance Bank Manager's Involvement
Mohali branch manager at AU Small Finance Bank, Charanjeet Randhawa, is implicated in 10 of the 14 debits, having approved fraud amounting to Rs 47.51 crore from this account, according to the CBI. In three of them, he acted as an authoriser and, in eight, performed or recorded the mandatory call-back confirmation with the customer. The call-back confirmation is mandatory for high-value debits. The mobile number on which these confirmations were obtained was not in use by any genuine signatory of the department but was being operated by co-accused Naresh Kumar, whose voice has been identified in the bank's call recordings, said the CBI.
A fraudulent debit transaction of Rs 25 crore took place on December 29, 2025, involving a cheque from HPGCL Pension Funds Trust. Randhawa acted as an authoriser and gave the call confirmation, which does not appear in the Call Detail Record of the authorised signatory. The money was transferred to M/s Swastik Desh Projects.
