The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a corruption case against an assistant professor and a finance officer with North-Eastern Hill University in Shillong for allegedly siphoning off funds allocated under two projects sanctioned by the Forest and Environment Ministry.
The accused have been identified as Assistant Professor Dinesh Bhatia and Finance Head L. Mangkara Karl Lyngrah. The projects were under the Environmental Information System (ENVIS).
It is alleged that Mr. Bhatia submitted fake bills related to food, board and lodging, stationery and taxi services. The Finance Head passed the bills without conducting an audit of the claims and the applicable rates, causing losses to the university.
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Mr. Bhatia was the ENVIS coordinator at the university for the project named Waste Management (Solid Waste, Biomedical Waste, Plastic Waste, E-Waste, Construction and Demolition Waste) for which ₹24,29,000 was sanctioned on July 16, 2018. It was conducted from August to October 2018.
The participants, three of who had left one week later, were taken to study tours outside Shillong for only four days. Bills for food from the university’s canteen were also allegedly inflated.