The Central Bureau of Investigation's supplementary chargesheet in the IDFC First Bank fraud case puts suspended Haryana IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal at the centre of an "illegal gratification" trail, with three unnamed women — identified in the chargesheet as W-1, W-2 and W-3 — listed as key witnesses whose statements detail lavish parties and payments allegedly made on his behalf.
The chargesheet, filed on September 2 before the Special CBI Judge in Panchkula and reported this week, alleges that part of the money siphoned off in the fraud — described as the Rs 645-crore IDFC First Bank case, though some reports put the total at Rs 657 crore — was used by former bank manager Ribhav Rishi, described by the agency as the fraud's main architect, to provide illegal gratification to Agarwal in exchange for facilitating the opening and operation of government bank accounts above permitted limits.
What the three witnesses allege
W-1, described as a friend of Rishi, told the CBI she booked a farmhouse called Jade Manor in Zirakpur on nine dates between July 2025 and January 2026, paying cash provided by Rishi, and arranged dance groups from Delhi for parties where, she alleged, Agarwal repeatedly pressed for more gatherings and "fresh faces". She claimed the agency has call records and phone-location data placing Agarwal at the venue on four of those nights.
W-3, allegedly sent to two parties at the farmhouse in November and December 2025, told investigators she was paid about Rs 10,000-12,000 each time and that the planned Novotel meeting on December 24 never took place. W-2, who came from Delhi on January 10, 2026, allegedly spent the night with Agarwal at the Hotel Wyndham in Mohali, for which she was paid Rs 75,000 in cash, according to the chargesheet. None of the women is named; their identities are in a sealed cover before the court.
The CBI says the entire spend was met "almost wholly in cash" drawn from siphoned government funds, and has invoked insult-to-modesty and Prevention of Corruption Act provisions against Agarwal.
Denial and next steps
Agarwal's lawyer, Vishal Garg, had told ThePrint in September that the allegations were baseless, that his client was innocent, and that no recovery was made from him during searches. The prosecution sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act is still awaited, and the CBI says its investigation into the fraud remains open.
Sources: ThePrint: IDFC — 3 women at heart of CBI's 'gratification' case against Agarwal | The Statesman: Rs 75k for sexual favours, mujra parties — what secret witnesses told CBI in IDFC fraud
The chargesheet, filed on September 2 before the Special CBI Judge in Panchkula and reported this week, alleges that part of the money siphoned off in the fraud — described as the Rs 645-crore IDFC First Bank case, though some reports put the total at Rs 657 crore — was used by former bank manager Ribhav Rishi, described by the agency as the fraud's main architect, to provide illegal gratification to Agarwal in exchange for facilitating the opening and operation of government bank accounts above permitted limits.
What the three witnesses allege
W-1, described as a friend of Rishi, told the CBI she booked a farmhouse called Jade Manor in Zirakpur on nine dates between July 2025 and January 2026, paying cash provided by Rishi, and arranged dance groups from Delhi for parties where, she alleged, Agarwal repeatedly pressed for more gatherings and "fresh faces". She claimed the agency has call records and phone-location data placing Agarwal at the venue on four of those nights.
W-3, allegedly sent to two parties at the farmhouse in November and December 2025, told investigators she was paid about Rs 10,000-12,000 each time and that the planned Novotel meeting on December 24 never took place. W-2, who came from Delhi on January 10, 2026, allegedly spent the night with Agarwal at the Hotel Wyndham in Mohali, for which she was paid Rs 75,000 in cash, according to the chargesheet. None of the women is named; their identities are in a sealed cover before the court.
The CBI says the entire spend was met "almost wholly in cash" drawn from siphoned government funds, and has invoked insult-to-modesty and Prevention of Corruption Act provisions against Agarwal.
Denial and next steps
Agarwal's lawyer, Vishal Garg, had told ThePrint in September that the allegations were baseless, that his client was innocent, and that no recovery was made from him during searches. The prosecution sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act is still awaited, and the CBI says its investigation into the fraud remains open.
Sources: ThePrint: IDFC — 3 women at heart of CBI's 'gratification' case against Agarwal | The Statesman: Rs 75k for sexual favours, mujra parties — what secret witnesses told CBI in IDFC fraud
