The CBI Special Court in Panchkula on Friday dismissed the bail applications of two accused, Randhir Singh and Manish Jindal, in the Rs 657-crore bank scam. The CBI has named them in the first chargesheet in the case.Randhir Singh was posted as Chief Controller, Finance & Accounts, Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP).He allegedly facilitated the fraudulent opening of an HSSPP account with IDFC First Bank in violation of the Finance Department’s instructions.The CBI alleged that he provided his personal mobile number in the account-opening form to receive SMS alerts and, despite receiving transaction alerts regarding fraudulent debit and credit entries, intentionally failed to take any corrective action.The investigation further revealed that the original note-sheet, prepared by an accountant, Rakesh, which correctly recorded that prior approval of the Finance Department was mandatory for opening the bank account, was allegedly replaced by Randhir Singh with another note-sheet dispensing with the requirement of such approval.He was in regular contact with co-accused Ribhav Rishi, the mastermind of the bank scam and former branch manager of IDFC First Bank, and Abhay Kumar, former relationship manager at IDFC First Bank.According to the CBI, Rishi sponsored a Goa trip for Randhir Singh and one of his family friends by making a cash payment of Rs 2.52 lakh to the travel agency M/s Divine Travels Private Limited. Rishi allegedly arranged and financed parties at the Jade Manor Hotel in Zirakpur, which Randhir Singh attended with the other conspirators.There were 101 fraudulent debit transactions totaling Rs 182.93 crore and 33 fraudulent credit transactions totaling Rs 132.39 crore in HSSPP’s account, resulting in a net embezzlement of over Rs 50 crore.Role of Manish JindalManish Jindal had previously been employed by HDFC Bank Limited and, during the course of his employment, developed a professional acquaintance with a senior functionary of the Haryana government.After leaving HDFC Bank, he joined IndusInd Bank, where co-accused Abhay Kumar was working as his junior.According to the CBI, he allegedly played a pivotal role in facilitating the opening of the HPGCL’s bank account with IDFC First Bank, from which the funds were subsequently siphoned off.The CBI revealed that he had exchanged 847 telephone calls with Ribhav Rishi, 360 with Abhay Kumar, as well as 38 with the concerned senior Government functionary during the period when the account was opened and the fraudulent withdrawals were effected.He thereafter received substantial illegal gratification in the form of two iPhone 17 Pro mobile phones, Rs 25 lakh in cash, and gold. It was a carrier who delivered such articles. The pocket diary recovered from the carrier’s possession, as well as the tower locations of both Jindal and the carrier, are the evidence in the case.It was claimed that HPGCL incurred a loss of Rs 169 crore due to the accused siphoning off funds.Counsel for Randhir Singh, MS Bitta, argued that his client was functioning within a well-defined administrative hierarchy and was not vested with any independent authority to take a unilateral decision either regarding the opening of the bank account or the investment and withdrawal of funds.Counsel for Jindal, Amit Dudeja, argued that his client’s role has been attributed to introducing the senior government functionary to the co-accused, but the name of the functionary has been withheld by the prosecution. He added that opening a bank account does not constitute a criminal offence.Opposing the bail applications, Counsel for the IDFC First Bank, Sameer Sethi, said that circumstances emerging from the investigation form “a consistent and compelling chain” pointing towards the accused’s involvement in the offence.Keeping in view the magnitude of the alleged fraud, the nature of the evidence collected during the investigation, and the stage of the proceedings, the CBI court said that “no case for grant of regular bail is made out at this stage.”