Corruption case against senior UGC official

A case has been filed against a joint secretary of the University Grants Commission for cheating and corruption while posted as regional director of the panel overseeing technical education in Bangalore, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials said Thursday.

"The case was registered against Manju Singh last month for accepting bribe over Rs.1.5 million in helping O.K. Sreedharan in starting an engineering college in Palakkad (Kerala) without requisite facilities and infrastructure," a senior CBI official said here.

Singh, who is now serving as a joint secretary in the UGC, was posted as regional director in All India Council for Technical Education's (AICTE) southwest regional office in Bangalore from December 2008 to June 2009.

In December last year, Sreedharan submitted a proposal for opening a science and technology college at her office. In her reply, Singh cited short comings in the proposal as per the AICTE norms and standards.

Sreedharan was told that the required facilities like a building with carpet area of 4,300 sqm, adequate computers, adequate furniture, laboratory, library, and a workshop were required to obtain letter of approval from the AICTE for starting up the new engineering college.

"Thereafter, they entered into criminal conspiracy. She received a bribe and suppressed these facts deliberately to get clearance from Delhi office," the officer added.

Sreedharan then, without having the basic facilities, started to admit students for the academic year 2009-10.

The agency Wednesday raided Singh's offices in Bangalore and New Delhi and residential premises and reportedly recovered incriminating documents.

Last updated on Nov 5^th, 2009 at 19:22 pm IST--IANS