CBI Arrests Suspended IAS Officer in Haryana’s Rs 504 Crore Government Funds Scam

Key Points

THE CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (CBI) has arrested suspended Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Ram Kumar Singh on Thursday, June 18, 2026, in connection to an alleged misappropriation of government funds of around Rs 72 crore. 

Singh, the former Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation (MC) of Panchkula, was suspended just two months ago on April 9, 2026, when he was accused of siphoning off funds from the civic body’s bank account maintained at the Sector 32 branch of IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh, Haryana. 

The IAS officer’s arrest marks the first major development in this case, which is considered to be one of  Haryana’s biggest financial frauds, which involved the siphoning off a total amount of Rs 504 Crore that belonged to multiple government departments. The funds were, allegedly, transacted via forged and non-forged fixed deposits. Singh is the first IAS officer to be arrested in this embezzlement case.

As per official statement by CBI, the Panchkula Municipal Corporation’s account was opened in an improper manner, and was in violation of the Haryana Finance Department guidelines. CBI also alleged that the account was structured so as to allow fraudulent transactions to take place.

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How the alleged scam took place

The bureau says that Officer Singh, whilst he was serving as Commissioner of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation, joined hands with some officials of the IDFC First bank to embezzle government funds. Singh allegedly handed over multiple signed cheques through intermediaries on the pretext of creating fixed deposits. However, in place of creating fixed deposits, funds were withdrawn using those signed cheques that were later diverted to shell companies. The bank officials who are accused in this case were responsible for the monetary transaction to shell companies to evade detection.

The CBI also stated that this huge misappropriation of government funds was being undertaken under the eye of the commissioner (IAS Singh) and senior accountant of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation. The latter has already been arrested and placed under police custody. The investigative agency uncovered crucial evidence which revealed IAS Singh’s active involvement in the embezzlement conspiracy, which led to his arrest.

As part of the investigation, searches were conducted at Singh’s residences in Karnal and Chandigarh, where officers found several incriminatory documents.

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The Larger Rs 504 Crore Haryana Government Funds Scam 

The embezzlement of Rs 72 crore by IAS Singh makes up a part of the larger fraud case in Haryana linked to the IDFC First Bank in Chandigarh. As per investigators, around Rs 502 originating from accounts of eight government departments were siphoned off by using deceptive means such as off forged fixed deposits, fabricated debit notes and other fraudulent banking instruments. The stolen funds were then routed through a network of shell companies and private entities. The case was first under the supervision of the Haryana State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, which was then brought under CBI’s purview after the Haryana government’s request.

As of yet, CBI has filed a chargesheet which names 17 individuals as accused in the Haryana-linked scam, which includes six officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank, three Haryana government officials, two companies and six private individuals.

Before his suspension in April 2026, Singh was serving as Special Secretary in the Revenue and Disaster Management Department and Additional CEO of the Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority.

[Edited by: Vaishnavi Sivadasan]

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