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| Birsa Munda Central Jail |
Ranchi, Feb. 4: The son of Ranchi University’s (RU) former finance officer Sushil Kumar Prasad, who is wanted in connection with embezzlement of UGC funds worth over Rs 1 crore, was arrested last night and sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail today.
Siddhartha Prasad is co-accused in an FIR lodged in June 2010 by RU registrar Jyoti Kumar against his father.
Police picked up the 25-year-old yesterday around 9pm from Line Tank Road under Kotwali police station in the heart of the city.
Officer in charge of Kotwali police station K.N. Choudhary said, “Sidhartha and his father were absconding after the FIR was lodged against them on June 1 last year by RU authorities. Yesterday, on a tip-off, we arrested Sidhartha and produced him before the chief judicial magistrate, who forwarded him to judicial custody.”
“We have learnt that Sushil Prasad is undergoing treatment for cancer at a hospital in Ghatkopar, Mumbai,” he said, adding, “We hope he will be in custody soon.”
Siddhartha pleaded innocence, saying he and his father were being falsely implicated. “My father did everything at the directive of the registrar, who lodged an FIR against my father after the embezzlement was exposed by some junior staff,” he added.
Choudhary, however, said Rs 32 lakh was transferred to Siddhartha’s account and that he was aware of it. “If he was innocent, why was he absconding?” the officer asked.
The Ranchi University registrar had lodged an FIR against the father-son duo under Sections 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or a electronic record), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will etc.), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.