The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau of Haryana has arrested four people in connection with the alleged IDFC First Bank case, said officials on Wednesday. This includes the main accused Ribhav Rishi, and three others who were identified as Abhay, Swati Singla, and Abhishek Singla.
They were arrested in a late-night operation on Tuesday.
The case pertains to the alleged forgery and procedural lapses that involved officials of the IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank. According to the IDFC First Bank, several unauthorised transactions were executed by its staff at the Chandigarh branch in accounts of the state government, causing a mismatch of Rs 590 crore.
Initially, the matter was being probed by a committee formed by the state development and panchayats department, which later recommended a police probe, though. Based on it, a first information report (FIR) was registered under Section 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and Sections 316(5) (criminal breach of trust) 318(4) (cheating), 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security), 340(2) (forged document) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Haryana CM's statement in Assembly
On Tuesday, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini addressed the issue in the Assembly following a row by opposition. The chief minister said the officials have recovered around Rs 556 crore, including Rs 22 crore in interest, and it has been credited to the respective accounts of various departments of the state government.
"I want to clarify before the House that the money concerning Haryana government departments, (the) entire amount has been deposited back into our accounts... The recovery has been made within 24 hours," Saini said, adding that those involved in the case will not be spared.
Meanwhile, the Congress has attacked the government over the issue, with veteran party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and party's state unit chief Rao Narender Singh demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter.
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