The Haryana government is almost certain to sack 2,000-batch IAS officer Pankaj Aggarwal soon. He was arrested by the CBI on June 22 in connection with a massive bank scam worth Rs 657 crore. A Panchkula court sent Agarwal to two-day CBI custody on Tuesday. According to government rules, if an officer is kept in custody for more than 48 hours on criminal charges or otherwise, the government should automatically dismiss him from his job.
The official, once known to be very close to the Haryana government, now has to distance himself from both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress. He has been constantly attacked by the Congress over Rajya Sabha elections and bank scams. Agarwal, who served as the returning officer in the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections, was accused of nullifying Congress votes and aiding BJP-backed independent candidate Satish Nandal. Just three days later, on 19 March, he was appointed principal secretary of several important departments, including irrigation, mines and geology.
He was holding this important post when the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) filed a complaint against him in February this year in connection with a Rs 657 crore bank scam. According to investigators, officials of the two banks embezzled government funds of various departments with the connivance of Haryana government officials. Aggarwal faces serious charges of helping embezzle Rs 50 crore from the education department and nearly Rs 10 crore from the agriculture department. After the CBI took charge of the probe in April, he was removed from the key post and posted as Principal Secretary, Department of Architecture, a post he holds till date.
After the Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress party sent a memorandum to the Governor seeking strict action against Agarwal. The Congress alleges that he willfully and illegally canceled valid votes of Congress MLAs. At a press conference in May, Congress leaders questioned why an official under investigation for corruption was given such an important task as elections. After Agarwal’s arrest, Rohtak MP Dipendra Hooda said the BJP used the corrupt officer for its political interests. He compared the incident to the controversial action of Returning Officer Anil Mochi in the Chandigarh mayoral election.