Mysore/Mysuru: An Assistant Professor attached to an Engineering College in city has been booked on the charges of illegally collecting Rs. 25 lakh college fees from the students. The said teaching staff has gone absconding after a case was registered by the Police.

Asst. Professor Harshita of Department of Electronics and Communication (E&C), ATME College of Engineering (ATMECE), Mysuru-Bannur Road, is the accused staff, against whom a criminal case has been booked at Varuna Police Station. The College Management also has kept her under suspension.

Details of the case

The students had to pay college fee of the academic year 2022-23 on September last itself. Harshita was asking the students to pay the fee to her and even her colleagues in the Department were telling the students to do so, in the messages sent to the students on their cell phone. In this wake, the students had made the payment both in cash and online mode and Harshita had even issued the receipt for the amount received from the students. However, she had not issued the receipt for Rs. 770 collected towards the exam fee, stated a student N. Niranjan in his complaint to Varuna Police.

Niranjan has alleged that Harshita has misappropriated the amount without remitting it to the College Management and has even issued a fake receipt for the amount collected from the students. “Now, the Management is demanding the students to pay the fee or else we won’t be allowed to write the exams,” he added.

Varuna Police who have registered a case have framed charges under IPC Sections 468, 471 and 420, besides launching a manhunt for the accused.

Students won’t be troubled: ATMECE Chairman

Chairman of ATMECE L. Arun Kumar has clarified that the students won’t be troubled as they are being allowed to write the exams and have already appeared for two practical exams.

“Soon after the matter of Asst. Professor Harshita collecting fee from the students came to our notice, we conducted an internal enquiry and suspended her. We have not authorised anybody including the Professors to collect the fees, as the students are provided with the Bank account number of the institution so that the students can directly credit the amount. Besides, the payment can also be made at the Accounts Department at the college and the messages are being sent to the students cell phone and e-mail regarding this. The students have made the payment illegally to Harshita. When we inquired Harshita over the allegations, she has given a written statement about the amount collected from the students in detail. She has collected Rs. 25 lakh from the students and the College Management was even ready to lodge a Police complaint. But the Police registered the case on the basis of a complaint lodged by the students, who are the victims in the case,” Arun Kumar explained.

“We have also submitted the written statement along with the details of fee collected from the students given by Harshita, during internal inquiry held at college, to the Police. However, Harshita remains non-reachable over phone and even the Police are in search of her,” the ATMECE Chairman said.