It is only a matter of time before the Haryana Government places 2000-batch IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal under suspension. Arrested by the CBI on June 22 in connection with the Rs 657 crore bank scam, Agarwal was sent to two days’ CBI custody by a Panchkula court on Tuesday.Related news: CBI arrests second Haryana IAS officer in Rs 657 crore bank scamAs per Section 3(2) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, “A member of the Service who is detained in official custody, whether on a criminal charge or otherwise for a period longer than forty-eight hours, shall be deemed to have been suspended by the Government concerned under this rule.”Once considered close to the Haryana Government, Agarwal has, in recent months, fallen out of favour not only with the Nayab Singh Saini-led BJP government but also with the Opposition Congress, which has repeatedly targeted him over both the scam and his role in the Rajya Sabha elections.After serving as Returning Officer (RO) for the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections, where he faced allegations of favouring BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal by rejecting Congress votes, Agarwal got a plum posting three days later. On March 19, he was appointed Principal Secretary, Irrigation and Water Resources; Adviser, Haryana Saraswati Heritage Board; and Principal Secretary, Mines and Geology Department.The posting came despite the registration of an FIR by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) on February 23 in connection with the Rs 657 crore bank scam, in which he was already under scrutiny.According to investigators, officials of IDFC First Bank and AU Small Finance Bank allegedly colluded with Haryana Government officials and IAS officers to siphon off funds from eight Haryana Government departments and two Chandigarh Administration departments.Agarwal is accused of facilitating the diversion of more than Rs 50 crore from the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP) during his tenure as Principal Secretary, School Education. He is also alleged to have been involved in the embezzlement of around Rs 10 crore from the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board while serving as Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.The CBI took over the investigation on April 8. On the same day, Agarwal, along with other accused IAS officers, was stripped of key assignments and posted as Principal Secretary, Architecture Department, a position he continues to hold.Agarwal began his career in 2001 as an Assistant Commissioner at the Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA), Gurugram. Over the years, he held several key positions, including in the power, irrigation, food and civil supplies, personnel, labour and transport departments.Controversy over Rajya Sabha electionFollowing the Rajya Sabha election, in which Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh eventually emerged victorious, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) submitted a memorandum to Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh on March 19 seeking action against Agarwal.The memorandum alleged that the Returning Officer acted with “notorious shrewdness and arbitrariness” and had “deliberately and illegally” rejected Congress MLAs’ votes while accepting invalid votes cast in favour of BJP and Independent candidates.On May 20, the Congress held a press conference against Agarwal. Congress chief whip BB Batra questioned why Agarwal had been appointed Returning Officer despite being under investigation in the scam.”He was compromised as Returning Officer. He was under pressure and did not conduct the elections fairly,” Batra alleged.Batra also criticised the Saini Government for failing to initiate departmental proceedings against the officers named in the scam. “Not a single departmental inquiry has been initiated against any IAS officer. Why have only two IAS officers been suspended? Why has Pankaj Agarwal not been suspended?” he asked.Following Agarwal’s arrest, Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda drew parallels with the 2024 Chandigarh mayoral election controversy involving returning officer Anil Masih.In a post on X on Tuesday, Hooda said, “The arrest has exposed the BJP’s corrupt face. During the Rajya Sabha elections, this officer made a concerted effort to ensure the victory of a BJP-backed candidate. The incident brought back memories of the brazen theft of councillors’ votes by returning officer Anil Masih during the Chandigarh mayoral election. The BJP government exploited this corrupt officer to serve its political interests by using the threat of action against him as leverage.”