Gurgaon: Three months after the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) requested Haryana govt to allow it to conduct a probe against two senior officials of the cooperative societies department in a Rs 100-crore scam, the state is yet to take a decision on the matter.
According to a circular issued by the state in July 2022, such requests from the bureau under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act are supposed to receive a response within 15 days.
Investigation into the scam is still in progress. ACB has registered 17 FIRs in Gurgaon, Ambala, Karnal, Hisar and Rohtak in connection with the scam in the cooperative societies department’s Integrated Cooperative Development Project (ICDP) till now and arrested 17 people. Two of them — assistant registrars Narender and Sandeep Khatkar — were nabbed on Friday.
Meanwhile, to ensure that none of the accused in the case flees the country, the bureau has issued five look-out circulars (LOCs). One of the accused was recently arrested at IGI airport on the basis of the LOCs, officials said.
The ICDP focuses on rural and agricultural development by setting up cooperative organisations. ACB investigations revealed that some senior officials of the department, in collusion with a few ICDP employees and private persons, siphoned off govt funds for personal gains in Rewari, Ambala, Karnal, Rohtak and Hisar. They used it to purchase flats, plots and jewellery.
Those arrested include several officials from the department — deputy chief auditor Yogender Agarwal, Central Cooperative Bank general manager Sanjay Hooda, deputy registrar Rohit Gupta, and assistant registrars Anu Koshish, Ram Kumar, Jitender Kaushik, Krishan Chander Beniwal, Narender and Sandeep Khatkar.
ICDP accountant Sumit Aggarwal and development officers Nitin Sharma and Vijay Singh have also been arrested. Four other persons who helped the govt officials siphon off the funds — Stalian Jeet, Natasha Kaushik, Subhash and Rekha — are also in ACB’s net.
In a statement regarding the scam, ACB chief Shatrujit Kapur said action would be taken against the culprits with complete transparency and impartiality. “Irrespective of the department, action will be taken if guilt is found,” Kapur said.
ACB sought the govt’s nod to initiate a probe under Section 17A of the Act against two top officials of the cooperative societies department in Nov 2023, but hasn’t received any communication from the state so far, investigators said.
The scam allegedly ran between 2011 and 2022 in several districts. In Rewari, the misappropriation of funds took place between 2017 and 2022.
The accused initially placed the funds in fixed deposit accounts in contravention of the rules and siphoned off the interest, which amounted to crores. “After the fraud wasn’t detected, the accused grew bolder and started siphoning off the principal amount from the accounts. They attempted to cover their tracks by forging government documents and bank records, which raised suspicion, triggering an inquiry in 2022. The Rs 100 crore-scam then came to light,” said an ACB official.
Based on the findings of the enquiry, ACB registered four FIRs in Gurgaon and a few arrests were made last year. During further investigation, irregularities were found in ICDPs in other districts. Subsequently, 10 more FIRs were registered in ACB’s Karnal (4 FIRs), Ambala (3), Hisar (2) and Rohtak (1) ranges.
According to a circular issued by the state in July 2022, such requests from the bureau under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act are supposed to receive a response within 15 days.
Investigation into the scam is still in progress. ACB has registered 17 FIRs in Gurgaon, Ambala, Karnal, Hisar and Rohtak in connection with the scam in the cooperative societies department’s Integrated Cooperative Development Project (ICDP) till now and arrested 17 people. Two of them — assistant registrars Narender and Sandeep Khatkar — were nabbed on Friday.
Meanwhile, to ensure that none of the accused in the case flees the country, the bureau has issued five look-out circulars (LOCs). One of the accused was recently arrested at IGI airport on the basis of the LOCs, officials said.
The ICDP focuses on rural and agricultural development by setting up cooperative organisations. ACB investigations revealed that some senior officials of the department, in collusion with a few ICDP employees and private persons, siphoned off govt funds for personal gains in Rewari, Ambala, Karnal, Rohtak and Hisar. They used it to purchase flats, plots and jewellery.
Those arrested include several officials from the department — deputy chief auditor Yogender Agarwal, Central Cooperative Bank general manager Sanjay Hooda, deputy registrar Rohit Gupta, and assistant registrars Anu Koshish, Ram Kumar, Jitender Kaushik, Krishan Chander Beniwal, Narender and Sandeep Khatkar.
ICDP accountant Sumit Aggarwal and development officers Nitin Sharma and Vijay Singh have also been arrested. Four other persons who helped the govt officials siphon off the funds — Stalian Jeet, Natasha Kaushik, Subhash and Rekha — are also in ACB’s net.
In a statement regarding the scam, ACB chief Shatrujit Kapur said action would be taken against the culprits with complete transparency and impartiality. “Irrespective of the department, action will be taken if guilt is found,” Kapur said.
ACB sought the govt’s nod to initiate a probe under Section 17A of the Act against two top officials of the cooperative societies department in Nov 2023, but hasn’t received any communication from the state so far, investigators said.
The scam allegedly ran between 2011 and 2022 in several districts. In Rewari, the misappropriation of funds took place between 2017 and 2022.
The accused initially placed the funds in fixed deposit accounts in contravention of the rules and siphoned off the interest, which amounted to crores. “After the fraud wasn’t detected, the accused grew bolder and started siphoning off the principal amount from the accounts. They attempted to cover their tracks by forging government documents and bank records, which raised suspicion, triggering an inquiry in 2022. The Rs 100 crore-scam then came to light,” said an ACB official.
Based on the findings of the enquiry, ACB registered four FIRs in Gurgaon and a few arrests were made last year. During further investigation, irregularities were found in ICDPs in other districts. Subsequently, 10 more FIRs were registered in ACB’s Karnal (4 FIRs), Ambala (3), Hisar (2) and Rohtak (1) ranges.