Panchkula, July 2 -- A local court on Tuesday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) a two-day police remand for the former Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) member secretary to probe a Rs.169.35-crore fraud. This is linked to the alleged embezzlement of Rs.504 crore in Haryana government funds involving IDFC First Bank. The CBI, while seeking remand of IAS officer Pardeep Kumar, alleged that Kumar repeatedly violated prescribed investment norms, channelled public funds far beyond permissible limits into IDFC First Bank and even parked Rs.8 crore in a savings account without inviting quotations from other banks, indicating a sustained pattern of favouritism. A CBI spokesperson said that Pardeep Kumar served as member secretary of HSPCB from August 31, 2022, to December 10, 2025, and was evading investigation for some time. He was arrested on Tuesday after the CBI traced his whereabouts. The agency told the court that custodial interrogation was essential to uncover the larger conspiracy behind the alleged siphoning of government funds. According to the CBI, Kumar was directly involved in the Board's investment decisions. He allegedly examined fixed deposit (FD) quotations received from banks, prepared comparative statements and recommended investments. "Despite being fully aware of the investment ceilings prescribed under government guidelines-Rs.50 crore for newly empanelled banks, including IDFC First Bank, Rs.25 crore for small finance banks and Rs.100 crore for universal banks subject to exposure limits-he repeatedly approved investments exceeding these limits," the agency said in a statement. The CBI further alleged that Kumar progressively concentrated HSPCB funds in IDFC First Bank in breach of the Rs.50-crore ceiling and that the limit was revised only on October 9, 2025, after the violations had already taken place. It also alleged that he deposited Rs.8 crore of surplus funds in an IDFC First Bank savings account without seeking quotations from other banks. The investigating agency submitted that Kumar had joined the investigation on June 24 but later switched off his mobile phone and failed to join the probe. He was detained at the Narwana Toll Plaza and arrested on June 30 under Section 35(1)(c) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Opposing the remand, Kumar's counsel argued that the prosecution case was based entirely on documentary evidence already in the agency's possession and pointed to an alleged discrepancy in the time of arrest mentioned in official notices. The defence maintained that the senior IAS officer had cooperated with the investigation and that custodial interrogation was unnecessary. The CBI, however, termed the discrepancy a typographical error and argued that custodial interrogation was indispensable to trace the money trail. After hearing both sides, the court noted that the investigating agency had disclosed specific grounds necessitating custodial interrogation. Therefore, the court rejected the accused's plea for release from custody and granted the CBI two days' police remand....