Chandigarh, April 10 Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said on Friday that the BJP government adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards any wrongdoing, noting that they had immediately ordered an investigation into the Rs 590-crore IDFC First Bank fraud case.
Earlier, Haryana's State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) were investigating the IDFC First Bank fraud case.
According to IDFC First Bank, the alleged Rs 590-crore fraud was committed by its employees and others in accounts held by the Haryana government with the private sector lender.
The SV & ACB has arrested several people in the case, including two former IDFC First Bank employees, and the rest are private individuals who own a partnership firm.
According to the police and ED allegations, Haryana government funds were supposed to be deposited by various departments of the state in the bank in FDs, but were allegedly diverted by the accused for their personal purpose, sources said.
The SV & ACB were also probing a Rs 150-crore discrepancy in the accounts of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation at a local Kotak Mahindra Bank branch.
Responding to a question on the bank fraud issue, the chief minister told the reporters that the government remains accountable to the public.
"Our government works with a zero-tolerance approach towards any wrongdoing," Saini said.
He said the investigation into the bank-related matter has now been handed over to the CBI, and the entire amount involved has already been recovered, along with interest.
Speaking to reporters here, Chief Minister Saini mentioned that the Haryana government had set up a committee when the IDFC First Bank case first came to light.
"We had earlier formed a committee headed by the Finance Secretary," he said.
During the budget session of the state Assembly, Saini had said that the committee has been constituted to examine the matter in detail and fix accountability of the employees and officers concerned.
The committee is headed by Arun Kumar Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance Department).
Among other things, the committee was to examine the decisions taken by concerned government departments to deposit substantial government funds in these banks, issues relating to non-reconciliation by government departments, any lapses, procedural deficiencies, or systemic failures in this regard.
The committee shall also examine various provisions of the state's banking policy and its enforcement, address compliance of the prescribed policy framework by the department, identify accountability, if any, and recommend appropriate corrective and preventive measures to ensure that such lapses do not recur.