Punjabi University lodges police complaint in fake billing case

Move comes week after two employees were suspended following probe by committee that found substantial evidence of embezzlement

After placing two of its employees under suspension in the fake billing scam, the Punjabi University authorities have lodged a formal complaint with Patiala’s senior superintendent of police Sandeep Garg.

Punjabi University, Patiala, vice-chancellor Prof Arvind suspended two employees and a peon last week after a fact-finding team found evidence of embezzlement. (HT file photo)

Garg has ordered a probe to be conducted by a deputy superintendent of police.

Last week, vice-chancellor Prof Arvind suspended two administrative wing employees, senior assistant Nishu Chaudhary and superintendent Raminder Kaur, besides terminating the services of a peon on contract after a three-member fact-finding committee found substantial evidence of embezzlement of funds.

In May, the cash-strapped university’s internal audit department and finance wing red-flagged five bills amounting to ₹6 lakh. The stamp and signatures of the department head were found to be fake and the names of research scholars and assistants against whom the bills were raised were bogus.

The committee probed the bank accounts of the senior assistant and others involved. The help of the university’s forensic department was taken to investigate the fake signatures and stamps.

SSP Garg said: “I have asked the university authorities to submit the preliminary report with the police. The DSP (City-2) has been directed to conduct the inquiry.”

According to the report, 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 the fake bills in the name of fake research scholars and assistants to siphon off the money.

The funds 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 Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan. It is learnt that the embezzlement went unchecked for six years.