UP: 10 booked for financial 'scam' at Barabanki college after court order

Barabanki (UP), Jan 10 (PTI) Police have registered a case against 10 men in connection with an alleged financial scam at the Munshi Raghunandan Prasad Sardar Patel Girls Degree College here, following a court order, officials said on Saturday.

City Kotwali SHO Sudhir Kumar Singh said the case has been registered against Umashankar Verma, Dhirendra Kumar, Manav Patel, Man Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Rajiv, Ashok, Sunil, Ajay and Bhagwat.

The action follows a petition filed by Krishna Chaudhary, a founding trustee of the college, alleging that some members of the management committee prepared fake and fabricated documents to embezzle around Rs 2.7 crore from the institution.

According to the petition submitted before the chief judicial magistrate, Umashankar Verma and former cooperative bank chairman Dhirendra Kumar Verma allegedly declared themselves office-bearers of the college without conducting proper elections or obtaining permission from the registrar of firms, societies and chits, Ayodhya.

The complainant claimed that during the nationwide Covid lockdown on April 5, 2020, a fake management committee meeting was conducted, and the signatures of 17 members were forged.

Using these, about Rs 50 lakh from the college's accounts in a nationalised bank and the district cooperative bank were allegedly transferred via RTGS to the Deyaram and Sons Trading Firm without bills.

It was also alleged that Umashankar transferred Rs 20 lakh to his son Manav Patel's account without approval from the management committee.

Despite Rs 2.07 crore in the cooperative bank account being frozen, funds were allegedly moved to another account, reportedly taking advantage of Dhirendra Kumar Verma's position as the chairman of the bank.

Chaudhary told police that she had earlier complained to the superintendent of police and submitted a petition on September 25, 2025, but no action was taken. Subsequently, the court ordered registration of the case.

Claiming that there were no irregularities in the college, Umashankar alleged that the FIR has been registered based on “false claims by my opponents”.

The accused will present evidence and cooperate with the judicial process to prove their innocence, he said. PTI COR CDN ARI