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| Shambhu Nath Singh |
A special court on Thursday ordered the state vigilance investigation bureau to register an FIR against the former vice-chancellor of Patna University, Shambhu Nath Singh, present registrar Vibhash Kumar Yadav and finance officer Awadesh Kumar Singh for funds bungling.
Special vigilance court judge Choudhary Brijendra Kumar Roy issued the directive in connection with a complaint petition filed by the secretary of Patna Civil Society, Ashok Kumar, on December 15, 2012. Kumar’s counsel Suraj Prakash Singh argued that the trio fabricated records in connivance with each óother to cheat the university and the state of Bihar for financial benefits.
Sources said the state vigilance bureau was asked to investigate allegations of financial irregularities against Singh in August 2012. The special vigilance court’s order to lodge an FIR against him would be another setback for the former vice-chancellor (VC), who is facing a case in the Supreme Court over his appointment.
The petitioner argued that Singh had misappropriated an amount of Rs 16.47 lakh for renovating and furnishing his residence. Kumar claimed that the former VC made false TA (travel allowance) claims and always left the headquarters (Patna University) without taking any approval from the chancellor’s office.
The petitioner also alleged that Singh had given admission to students to BEd and MEd courses in lieu of money.
The complaint petition claims that registrar Yadav occupied the functional quarters of the principal of Patna Science College and misused Rs 5.5 lakh on its renovation, earlier decorated by the then principal of the college spending Rs 4 lakh.
The petitioner submitted that the finance officer, Singh, was appointed on contract after his retirement but drew a monthly salary of Rs 43,510.
The trio have also been accused of misappropriating a huge sum meant for constructing women’s hostel, library building and seminar hall. The petition also states that former VC Singh and registrar Yadav illegally awarded a tender of over Rs 6.48 crore concerning the examination management system to M/s Mindlogise Intratech Bangalore in lieu of commission.
