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Haryana archaeology dept deputy director in dock for corruption
The deputy director is facing allegations of misappropriating funds, violating tender norms in connivance with an IIT Kanpur employee
The Panchkula unit of the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB), Haryana, has registered an FIR against Dr Banani Bhattacharyya, deputy director of the Haryana archaeology department, and an IIT Kanpur employee, Javed.
The case has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code related to cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.
The complainant, Shukar Pal, is posted as the state public information officer at the SV&ACB Panchkula unit.
According to the FIR, the Vigilance Bureau received two separate complaints in September and November last year regarding alleged corruption and the posting of Dr Bhattacharyya, respectively.
These complaints were forwarded to the office of the chief secretary, Haryana, for appropriate action. Based on communications received from the chief secretary’s office and the director general of SV&ACB, the present case was registered.
As per the first complaint of September 2025, Dr Bhattacharyya allegedly misappropriated funds, violated tender norms and extended undue financial benefits to a specific agency while conducting Ground Penetration Radar Survey (GPRS) during 2023-2024.
The complaint alleges that Dr Bhattacharyya took complete control of the procurement process and deliberately concealed the bidding process from the open market. It is alleged that no tender or bidding notice was advertised on any media platform, thereby denying fair access to the general public.
The archaeology department reportedly admitted, in its reply to an RTI query, that the tender was not advertised.
It is also alleged that IIT Kanpur was the only agency invited for the GPRS contract without inviting competitive bids. Javed, an employee at IIT Kanpur, submitted an initial proposal for six sites at a total cost of ₹47,20,000.
The complaint questions why other competent and geographically closer institutions, such as Kurukshetra University within Haryana or IIT Roorkee, were not evaluated for feasibility. Kurukshetra University is stated to be competent to conduct GPRS, but opportunities for other agencies were allegedly deliberately denied.
According to the FIR, Dr Bhattacharyya paid payments amounting to ₹24,33,750 for GPRS work at Topra Kalan, Ancient Mound Sugh and Ancient Mound Sandhaye.
For a similar scope of work and conditions, Galaxy Geomatics Pvt Ltd had reportedly quoted ₹14,16,000. The complaint alleges that the contract was awarded to a favoured agency at nearly double the prevailing market rate, causing financial loss to the government and extending undue benefit to the agency.
Further, the department allegedly initiated procurement of GPRS services without following procedures prescribed by the Haryana finance department.
The FIR states that Dr Bhattacharyya violated standard procurement procedures without justification or approval from agencies concerned. She is also accused of violating transparency norms laid down by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and breaching mandatory directions related to procurement through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.
The complaint further alleges that the Haryana State Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Policy, 2020, was violated as Class-1 local vendors were not given a fair opportunity to participate in the bidding process.
Meanwhile, the second complaint, submitted in November 2025 and addressed to chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, challenged the appointment of Dr Bhattacharyya. The complaint sought urgent intervention against the alleged illegal back-door entry into government service, and the continued irregular appointment and extension of her contract.
The complaint alleges that Dr Bhattacharyya, who was never a retired employee of any eligible institution, was appointed on a contractual basis as deputy director (Archaeology Museums) in disregard of mandatory conditions.
It claims that her appointment was made in contravention of the advertisement and approval granted by the chief secretary, Haryana. The complaint further alleges that she has been granted yearly contract extensions for nearly a decade despite being ineligible from the outset, amounting to a violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, which guarantee equality and fairness in public employment.
Confirming the development, Pankhuri Kumar, superintendent of police, SV&ACB Panchkula, said an FIR had been registered and the matter was at a very initial stage. She added that no arrests had been made so far and further investigation was underway. Despite repeated attempts, Dr Bhattacharyya was not immediately available for a response.
