A local court has dismissed the regular bail application of Sahil Kukkar, a former accountant with the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), in connection with the alleged ₹83 crore IDFC First Bank fund diversion case.The court held that he could not claim parity and observed that there was a possibility of influencing witnesses if released. (HT File)Additional sessions Judge Arvind Kumar passed the order on June 22, holding that the allegations against the accused were serious in nature and that his release at this stage could potentially affect the prosecution.The case forms part of a wider CBI probe into alleged financial irregularities involving government funds parked in IDFC First Bank. The agency is investigating alleged frauds involving around ₹83 crore from CREST, ₹117 crore from Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) and more than ₹650 crore from various Haryana government departments. The CBI recently informed a court that the fraudulent transactions across these entities appeared to be synchronised, with similar patterns emerging across the accounts.According to the CBI, the CREST fraud involved more than 150 fraudulent debit transactions between July 2024 and December 2025. Investigators allege that government funds were diverted through shell entities in connivance with bank officials and other accused persons.Kukkar, who was arrested on March 31, 2026, sought bail on the grounds that he was not named in the original FIR and was merely a contractual accountant with no authority to sanction or release funds. His counsel argued that he was neither an authorised signatory to the bank accounts nor a beneficiary of the alleged fraud and that no recovery was pending from him. The defence also submitted that the chargesheet had already been filed and cited the grant of bail to a co-accused.Opposing the plea, the CBI contended that Kukkar served as CREST’s accountant throughout the relevant period and was responsible for supervising financial affairs, scrutinising transactions and maintaining financial records. The agency alleged that despite receiving alerts regarding transactions linked to the accounts, he failed to report suspicious activity and instead assisted other accused persons in carrying out the fraudulent transactions.The prosecution further claimed that reconciliation statements prepared by Kukkar reflected the disputed transactions and that his mobile number was linked to the bank accounts involved in the case. The agency also alleged that expenses incurred during a Rajasthan trip by Kukkar were paid by the main accused.While rejecting the plea, the court observed that the allegations against Kukkar differed from those against the co-accused who had secured bail, noting that Kukkar was a CREST employee during the period under investigation. The court held that he could not claim parity and observed that there was a possibility of influencing witnesses if released.The CBI has already filed a chargesheet in the CREST case against multiple accused, alleging that forged bank statements were used to conceal unauthorised transactions that ultimately resulted in losses exceeding ₹83 crore to the Chandigarh administration body.Consequently, the court dismissed the bail application, observing that considering the gravity of the alleged offences, the accused was not entitled to the concession of regular bail at this stage.