Embezzlement: Punjabi University suspends two officials, sacks peon

Punjabi University vice-chancellor Prof Arvind also orders departmental inquiry against the two suspended employees

Punjabi University vice-chancellor Prof Arvind on Friday suspended two administrative employees and terminated the services of a contractual peon after a fact-finding committee indicting them in an embezzlement case.

It is suspected the embezzlement at Punjabi University, Patiala, went unchecked for at least six years and could run into crores. (HT File Photo)

Those suspended are senior assistant Nishu Chaudhary and superintendent Raminder Kaur. The two are regular employees and have been transferred from the university as well. The peon has been identified as Jatinder Singh. All were posted in the varsity’s department of planning and monitoring.

This is the first time in the past five years that the varsity, which has been hit by a number of cases of corruption and bungling of funds, has taken a strict action against the erring officials.

“The stringent action is required as the matter is serious. Moreover, a strong message needs to be sent in such cases of financial irregularities,” said the V-C, adding that a departmental inquiry has also been ordered against the suspended employees.

It will be carried out by the three-member fact-finding committee, comprising registrar Varinder Kaushik, dean (research) Ashok Tiwari and finance officer Rakesh Khurana. In its initial report submitted last month, the panel claimed to have gathered “substantial evidence” to proceed against the erring employees.

The matter came to light after the internal audit department and the varsity’s finance wing flagged issues in five bills amounting to ₹6 lakh purportedly submitted by a department in May.

The stamp and signatures of the department head were found to be fake and even the names of research scholars and assistants against whom the bills were raised turned out to be bogus.

The committee probed bank accounts of the senior assistant and others involved in the matter. The assistance of the varsity’s forensic department was also taken to investigate the fake signatures and stamps.

According to the initial probe, the senior assistant — who handled funds provided to the university under various heads and was posted in the same department for over a decade — used to create and submit fake bills in the name of “ghost” research scholars and assistants to siphon off the money.

The funds mainly included those provided by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for development schemes, non-UGC grant for research projects and scholarships given by the Union ministry of education besides those received under the Rashtriya Uchhchatar Shiksha Abhiyan. It is believed the embezzlement went unchecked for at least six years and could run into crores.