Pune professor forges letter to claim prestigious science award; held

Pune, Sep 22 (PTI) A chemistry professor of a Pune-based college has been arrested for allegedly forging a letter claiming he was selected for a prestigious science award instituted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, police said on Monday.

Virendra Singh Yadav, an associate professor from a college in Wagholi, was arrested on Sunday under sections 318 (4) (cheating), 336 (forgery) and other relevant sections of Bharashtiya Nyaya Sanhita, an official said.

According to a complaint by a security officer from the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), the ministry recently came across a letter stating that associate professor Yadav from a college in Wagholi had been selected for the 2025-26 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award.

In 2022, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award was renamed as Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, one of the highest recognitions in the field of science, technology, and innovation.

"During scrutiny, CSIR-HRDC officials found a forged signature of the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Science & Technology in the letter. A probe also revealed that no one had been selected for the said science award for 2025-26," the complaint stated.

The NCL was instructed to conduct a verification, following which a team visited Yadav at the college and found out that he had allegedly forged the letter to gain a higher position in the field of science, police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Somay Munde said, "Yadav forged a letter claiming he has been selected for the award, and he also forged the signature of Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Science & Technology Jitendra Singh." "We are investigating further in the case. We are also probing if there are any other individuals involved in the case, " he said.

Sub-inspector Sandip Karpe, the investigating officer in the case, said Yadav has been remanded to police custody till September 26. PTI SPK ARU