Chandigarh: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that Vineet Garg, 1991-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, during his tenure as chairman of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), facilitated multiple fixed-deposit placements with IDFC First Bank, despite the bank repeatedly losing open bids for the board’s funds.
According to the supplementary chargesheet filed before the Special CBI Court in Panchkula, Garg is one of six IAS officers named as accused in the wider case involving alleged misappropriation of Haryana government funds. The agency has alleged that IDFC First Bank received deposits totalling about ₹209.42 crore through six placements between March 2025 and January 2026.
CBI alleges changes in deposit allocation
The chargesheet focuses on an October 24, 2025 placement involving HSPCB funds. A data entry operator at the board had initially communicated a proposed distribution of the maturing deposits, which included ₹25 crore each for IDFC First Bank, Bandhan Bank, IndusInd Bank and Ujjivan, along with ₹77 crore for HARCO Bank.
The CBI alleges that Garg subsequently altered the recommendation. According to the agency, ₹25 crore earmarked for IndusInd Bank was shifted to IDFC First Bank, increasing IDFC’s allocation for that cycle to ₹50 crore. The agency says this took IDFC First Bank’s cumulative deposits with HSPCB to ₹163.68 crore at that stage.
The CBI has also questioned the circumstances surrounding IDFC First Bank’s quotation. The agency noted that Bandhan Bank had quoted a higher interest rate of 7.30 per cent, compared with IDFC First Bank’s 7.25 per cent, while the latter’s quotation was allegedly submitted after the stipulated deadline and lacked a bank stamp and signatory name.
Six placements with IDFC First Bank
The chargesheet alleges that Garg approved six placements with IDFC First Bank during his tenure as HSPCB chairman:
- March 8, 2025: ₹50 crore at 8.25 per cent.
- March 27, 2025: ₹17.90 crore at 8.25 per cent, despite Jana Small Finance Bank quoting 8.45 per cent.
- July 2, 2025: ₹37.78 crore at 7.10 per cent.
- October 1, 2025: ₹8 crore transferred to a savings account.
- October 24, 2025: ₹50 crore at 7.25 per cent.
- January 22, 2026: ₹45.74 crore at 7.40 per cent.
According to the CBI’s calculations, these placements took IDFC First Bank’s total HSPCB deposits to approximately ₹209.42 crore, substantially above the ₹50-crore ceiling applicable to a newly empanelled bank.
CBI flags changes in HSPCB’s deposit process
The agency has also alleged that the process for comparing bank quotations changed after Garg took charge as HSPCB chairman in December 2024.
The chargesheet says the process was moved from the board’s e-office system to physical files. It further alleges that the field of banks eligible to compete for the deposits was expanded to include newly empanelled private and small finance banks.
The CBI has alleged that these procedural changes helped IDFC First Bank enter the competition for HSPCB funds. The agency also claims that Garg personally reviewed relevant notesheets and discussed them with then-member secretary Pardeep Kumar.
Alleged links between bank officials and intermediaries
The chargesheet also refers to call records and communications involving IDFC First Bank officials, former bank employee Abhay Kumar and Manish Jindal, who the CBI describes as an intermediary.
According to the agency, call records showed repeated communication between Jindal and IDFC First Bank officials around the period when HSPCB was inviting quotations. The CBI has also referred to messages in which Jindal allegedly addressed Garg as “sir”.
The agency has alleged that Jindal acted as a link between bank officials and Garg, although the exact nature of the alleged relationship is a matter for the investigation and court proceedings.
HSPCB account and alleged ₹169 crore loss
The wider case concerns alleged diversion of funds from HSPCB’s account with IDFC First Bank’s Sector 32 branch in Chandigarh. The CBI has alleged that the account was opened in February 2025 without the required approval from the Haryana Finance Department.
The Tribune reported that the account was later used in transactions that allegedly resulted in a loss of around ₹169 crore to HSPCB. The CBI has also alleged that the account-opening process lacked proper departmental records.
The agency has separately alleged that fraudulent fixed-deposit records and unauthorised transactions were used to divert HSPCB funds through entities linked to the alleged network.
Garg’s role in the CBI chargesheet
Garg served as HSPCB chairman from December 2, 2024, to April 9, 2026, according to the board’s official incumbency record.
The CBI has named Garg along with five other IAS officers in its chargesheet in the wider Haryana government funds case. Other reports have identified the accused IAS officers as Mohammed Shayin, Dr Saket Kumar, Pankaj Agarwal, Ram Kumar Singh and former HSPCB member secretary Pardeep Kumar, along with Garg.
The agency has alleged criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the wider case.
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