Yogi denies permission to CBI to investigate 3 IAS officers in PF scam

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath might have advocated corruption-free governance and declared that it will take action against the guilty, but his government has denied permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate the alleged role of three IAS officers in over Rs 2200 crore PF scam.

Highly placed sources said that the CBI wanted to investigate former IAS officer Sanjay Agarwal, IAS Alok Kumar, and IAS Aparna U who were posted in high positions in Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd but the permission has been denied by the Appointment and Personnel Department.

UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) has been charged with investing Rs ₹2,267 crores of the employees’ provident fund (PF) as fixed deposits (FDs) in the Diwan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL)—a Mumbai-based private company. The investment was carried out in exchange of a commission flouting the Central government’s investment guidelines.

Sanjay Agarwal is a 1984 batch officer and presently he is on the Central deputation and is posted as Secretary, Agriculture, and Farmers Welfare Department. He was posted as Principal Secretary and Chairman of UPPCL from 2013 to 2017 when the scam started.

The second officer CBI wanted to prosecute was Alok Kumar a 1988 batch officer, who is also on Central deputation and is posted as Secretary, Ministry of Power. He was once the head of the Energy Department, Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited, and UP Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited. He was also Principal Secretary Department of Power and Chairman of UPPCL from 2017 to 2019.

Aparna U is a 2001 batch IAS officer currently posted as Secretary UP Medical Health, Family Welfare and Mission Director National Health Mission and Executive Director SIFPSA. She was MD UPPCL and Secretary Power Department UP from 2017 to 2019.

As these three officers were at the helm of affairs when the PF scam happened, the CBI had sought sanction from the Uttar Pradesh government to investigate the alleged role of three senior bureaucrats. The agency has sought the nod of the state government under Section 17 (A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act which mandates prior sanction from the competent government before initiating any investigation against a government officer.

Prior to the CBI investigation, EOW was investigating the scam in 2019 and sent former MD AP Mishra, director of finance Sudhanshu Trivedi, and PK Gupta to jail. This was followed by several arrests including agents of the brokerage firm and CAs.

The Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) is facing multiple probes after a report suggested that the company, through layers of shell companies, allegedly siphoned off ₹ 31,000 crores out of the total bank loan of ₹ 97,000 crores.