Ahmedabad: A massive financial fraud has come to light at Nirma University after an internal audit revealed that over ₹5 crore was siphoned off from student activity and book-refund accounts over a two-year period.

As per the FIR filed with Sola High Court Police Station, the prime accused, Prakash Ranjitbhai Thakor, who was entrusted with operating the university’s student-activity bank accounts, allegedly orchestrated the scam with the help of six associates.

According to the complaint filed on November 14 by Nikunj Ramanikbhai Patel (45), an Associate Professor in the Management Department and authorised representative of the IMNU Student Activity Association, the accused created fake NEFT lists and forged letters to fraudulently transfer student book-refund money into multiple personal accounts.

The complaint states that funds collected annually from management and commerce students for books, activities, and club events were deposited into three Kalupur Co-operative Bank accounts belonging to the university’s student associations. Payments and refunds from these accounts required signatures from two authorised committee members.

Thakor, appointed in 2018 to manage these accounts, allegedly exploited this system. When asked to appear for the 2024–25 audit on September 10, he remained absent, raising suspicion. On September 11, when questioned by the complainant and another staff member, Mahesh Solanki, Thakor admitted to withdrawing money for “personal use”.

He later confessed that he had been preparing fraudulent NEFT lists by writing real student names but entering bank account numbers of his friends, relatives, and associates. He allegedly misled authorised faculty signatories into signing the forged refund letters and then deposited the money into these accounts.

The associates booked in the FIR include Niketan, Harshil Laheri, Nandkishor, Mahesh Chhakhya, Jainam Veera, and Rohit Vikrambhai Thakor. They allegedly allowed their or others’ bank accounts to be used in the scam in exchange for commissions, while the remaining amounts were transferred back to Thakor.

The financial audit revealed that Thakor diverted:

• ₹46,20,207 between April 24, 2023 and March 31, 2024

• ₹4,39,33,277 between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025

• ₹14,62,612 between April 1, 2025 and May 1, 2025

Totaling ₹5,00,16,496, fraudulently credited to accounts connected to the accused.

The FIR names all seven suspects, who are booked under Sections 316(4), 318(4), 336(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2), and 61(2) of the BNS. The investigation is underway, and more individuals may be identified during the probe. DeshGujaart