Haryana’s 2000-batch IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal, arrested by the CBI in the alleged Rs 657-crore bank scam, is now set to face suspension under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969.
Agarwal was arrested on June 22 and produced before a Panchkula court, which on Tuesday remanded him in two-day CBI custody.
Under Section 3(2) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, “A member of the Service who is detained in official custody, whether on a criminal charge or otherwise for a period longer than 48 hours, shall be deemed to have been suspended by the Government concerned under this rule.”
Three months ago, Agarwal was considered close to the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government. Today, he finds himself under attack not only from the government but also from the Congress, which has repeatedly questioned his conduct as Returning Officer (RO) during the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections.
Agarwal came under fire after the Congress accused him of favouring BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal by invalidating Congress votes during the Rajya Sabha polls. Despite the controversy and the registration of an FIR by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) on February 23 in the bank scam, he was given key assignments on March 19 as Principal Secretary, Irrigation and Water Resources; Adviser, Haryana Saraswati Heritage Board; and Principal Secretary, Mines and Geology Department.
According to the investigation, Agarwal allegedly played a role in siphoning off more than Rs 50 crore from the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP) and another Rs 10 crore from the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board. The CBI took over the investigation on April 8. The same day, Agarwal, along with other accused IAS officers, was shifted to the Architecture Department as Principal Secretary, a post he continued to hold until his arrest.
Agarwal began his career in 2001 as Assistant Commissioner at the Haryana Institute of Public Administration, Gurugram, and has served in several key departments, including Power, Irrigation and Water Resources, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Personnel, Labour and Transport.
Following the Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress Legislative Party submitted a memorandum to Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh on March 19, describing Agarwal’s conduct as “shameful”. Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda said in a post on X: “The BJP government exploited this corrupt officer to serve its own political interests by using the threat of action against him as leverage.”
