Graft case: STF makes 3rd arrest in 50 days, Agra varsity ex-V-C still at large

The STF on Friday arrested Santosh Kumar Singh, a resident of Sultanpur and an alleged aide of Ajay Mishra (one of the three persons arrested in the case so far)

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (UPSTF) has made another arrest in the graft case lodged against the former officiating vice-chancellor (V-C) of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Agra, Vinay Kumar Pathak, senior STF officials said on Saturday.

On October 29, one David Mario Denise, the operator of a firm involved in conducting examinations at the Agra university, had lodged an FIR with the Lucknow police against Pathak and his close aide Ajay Mishra for holding the former captive and torturing him for not paying them the commission to clear bills worth ₹1.4 crore

Pathak, meanwhile, continued to evade police detention even 50 days after an FIR was lodged against him at the Indira Nagar police station in Lucknow on October 28.

The STF on Friday arrested Santosh Kumar Singh, a resident of Sultanpur and an alleged aide of Ajay Mishra (one of the three persons arrested in the case so far). Singh was accused of taking multiple contracts in his firm’s name, Satyam Solutions, on the behest of Mishra, with whom he was in constant touch with till the latter’s arrest on October 29.

A senior STF official said Singh’s name surfaced during the investigation and, later, it was discovered that as many as 23 work orders of different contracts were taken by Mishra on behalf of Singh’s firm over the past few years.

The STF, recently, booked Pathak under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988. Initially, Pathak, who is presently the V-C of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, was booked on the charges of extortion and torturing, holding captive and threatening a person.

A senior STF officer said the officials proceeded with the investigation after Pathak did not respond to the notices sent to him. “Pathak has now been booked under the PC Act, 1988 on the basis of statements of Ajay Mishra and Ajay Jain (his aides), as well as other evidence that surfaced supporting the alleged corrupt practices of Pathak,” the official added.

On October 29, one David Mario Denise, the operator of a firm involved in conducting examinations at the Agra university, had lodged an FIR with the Lucknow police against Pathak and his close aide Ajay Mishra for holding the former captive and torturing him for not paying them the commission to clear bills worth ₹1.4 crore. Pathak was the officiating V-C of the university when the alleged incident took place.

The next day, STF arrested Mishra, who played the mediator’s role in demanding a commission from Denise. Pathak’s other alleged associate Ajay Jain was arrested on November 6.