Ten Individuals Charged in Financial Scam at Barabanki College Following Court Order

Following a court order, ten men have been charged in connection with an alleged financial scam at Munshi Raghunandan Prasad Sardar Patel Girls Degree College, involving embezzlement of Rs 2.7 crore.

A legal case has been initiated against 10 individuals linked to a suspected financial fraud at Munshi Raghunandan Prasad Sardar Patel Girls Degree College. This action follows a court directive, as reported by officials on Saturday. City Kotwali SHO Sudhir Kumar Singh confirmed the registration of the case against Umashankar Verma, Dhirendra Kumar, Manav Patel, Man Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Rajiv, Ashok, Sunil, Ajay, and Bhagwat.

The case stems from a petition by Krishna Chaudhary, a founding trustee of the college. She accused some management committee members of creating false documents to misappropriate approximately Rs 2.7 crore from the institution. The petition was filed with the chief judicial magistrate.

Allegations of Forgery and Misuse

According to the complaint, Umashankar Verma and former cooperative bank chairman Dhirendra Kumar Verma allegedly declared themselves as office-bearers without conducting elections or obtaining necessary permissions from the registrar of firms, societies, and chits in Ayodhya. During the nationwide Covid lockdown on April 5, 2020, a fake management meeting was purportedly held where signatures of 17 members were forged.

It is alleged that these forged signatures facilitated the transfer of about Rs 50 lakh from college accounts in a nationalised bank and the district cooperative bank to Deyaram and Sons Trading Firm via RTGS without any bills. Additionally, Umashankar allegedly transferred Rs 20 lakh to his son Manav Patel's account without management committee approval.

Frozen Accounts and Further Transfers

Despite Rs 2.07 crore being frozen in the cooperative bank account, funds were reportedly moved to another account. This was allegedly done by exploiting Dhirendra Kumar Verma's position as the bank's chairman. Krishna Chaudhary had previously complained to the superintendent of police and submitted a petition on September 25, 2025, but no action was taken until now.

The court's order led to the registration of this case. Umashankar has denied any wrongdoing at the college. He claimed that "the FIR has been registered based on false claims by my opponents." He stated that the accused would provide evidence and cooperate with legal proceedings to establish their innocence.

This case highlights significant allegations of financial misconduct within an educational institution. The judicial process will determine the veracity of these claims and any potential consequences for those involved.

With inputs from PTI