2 faculty members among 7 arrested in Bhatkhande Univ embezzlement case
The arrests took place on Wednesday after the CID filed a chargesheet in May, following months of investigation into large-scale irregularities at the renowned cultural institute.
The arrested professors are Manoj Kumar Mishra (60), associate professor of tabla and head of department, and Gyanendra Dutt Bajpai (53), assistant professor of Bharatanatyam and head of department.
Other arrested accused are Mohd Sueb alias Soib (28), Vinod Kumar Mishra (61), Kundan Singh (46), Suresh Singh (61), and Jugal Kishore Verma (67), all residents of Lucknow.
They are contractors and firm owners.
CID teams, led by senior officers, carried out raids across Kaiserbagh, Medical College crossing, and Rajajipuram on Wednesday evening.
A senior CID official said, "The evidence clearly indicates that university funds were systematically funnelled through ghost vendors without any adherence to tender procedures. Some accused operated as middlemen, while others controlled shell accounts used to launder the embezzled money."
by Taboola
by Taboola
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The CID investigation revealed that the former vice chancellor Shruti Sadolikar Katkar, along with the then drawing and disbursing officer (DDO) and several administrative staff, siphoned off funds by awarding fraudulent procurement and service contracts to 12 shell firms. These firms were allegedly floated by associates of the accused and issued fake invoices for equipment, maintenance, and services that were never rendered.
Kickbacks were then distributed among the conspirators.
The scandal came to light following an FIR lodged on March 5, 2021, by whistleblower Lavkush Dwivedi, after the Uttar Pradesh governor, who also serves as the university's chancellor, ordered a preliminary inquiry into financial discrepancies.
Initially, the case was investigated by the local police and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), but due to its scale and complexity, it was transferred to the CID on Jan 18 last year.
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